Ideologies
by khay
Summary: AU. The race is on between the XMen and the Brotherhood to recruit young mutants for their cause. But can the two teams get their act together enough to save the ones they lost? Majorly Romy, minor Lancitty and Jott.
1. AU Bayville High

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. * * 

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A/N: 

I know I said that I'm leaving for two weeks. But I have been dabbling in this fic way before finals and finally finished it while I was taking a break from studying (at three o'clock in the morning no less). Exams are half-way over, only three more to go (two written and one oral). And I had an exam this morning, or rather, yesterday morning (it's tomorrow now, by my watch, if that makes any sense). I really would appreciate the feedback.

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Again, as with my other fic, I am writing without the accents because I know I would only mess it up. As for Pietro, I chose not to run the words together or hyphenate his speech because as a reader, I hated it. It takes effort for me to understand what he's trying to say. So just imagine everything in your head. Sorry.

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Warning: Experimental. AU. The mutants of Bayville High haven't been exposed yet. The X-Men vs. the new and improved Brotherhood. I placed Kurt and Rogue (whom I gave a different characterization) in the Brotherhood to even the odds a little. There are no New Mutants yet, but the Brotherhood and the X-Men are in a race to recruit mutants for their cause. 

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Ideologies 

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Chapter 1 

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Remy LeBeau casually leaned on his motorcycle. He knew he was attracting more than a few stares, mostly from members of the fairer sex. He couldn't help but smirk. He was hot. And he knew it. Uncaringly, he took out a cigarette from one of the more obvious pockets of his trench coat. He absentmindedly tapped it a few times on the back of his hand. He was about to light it using his fingers when he remembered he wasn't in New Orleans anymore. 

He wasn't in Thieves territory.

He was in Bayville.

He winced. In Bayville High in particular.

He immediately lost his smile as he pocketed the cigarette back. His fearless leader told him in no uncertain terms to keep his powers under wraps. And as he didn't carry a lighter with him, he would have to postpone his smoke for later.

At eighteen, he had never had any formal schooling, having grown up in the streets. And when Jean-Luc LeBeau took him in and eventually adopted him, his education was focused…_elsewhere_. But when he got into Bayville, he took the aptitude exam and they told him that he was qualified to be a senior student.

Great. _Woo-hoo_. He was in high school.

He made a face. His father assured him that this was only on a trial basis and he was given half a month to decide. Well, his decision was made and it didn't even take him half a second. He was a thief at heart. Forcing him to go to school was a cruel and unusual punishment. He would much rather pickpockets than do a chemistry experiment.

He hadn't even unpacked his bags yet, knowing full well that he would be gone the moment they let him.

Which would be in twelve days, six hours, and twenty-five minutes.

Then, the east door of Bayville High burst open.

A stunning redhead glided out, a sparkle in her green eyes and a smile on her lips. 

"Hey, Jean! Wait up!" A guy with ruby-colored glasses named Scott Summers, the guy whose orders Remy was supposed to follow, ran in after her, followed by a petite brunette called Kitty and a golden-skinned skater boy known as Evan.

"G'afternoon, _chere_," a lazy Cajun drawl floated to their ears as they drew nearer to where Remy parked his bike.

More than a few women in the campus sighed, wishing that they were the objects of his attention. But what chances do they have against the princess of Bayville herself, Jean Grey?

Jean smiled at him. "Hello, Remy," 

Though hidden behind the glasses, most of the people who were watching just knew that Scott was glaring at the Cajun.

But before anyone could react, the west door opened. Out strutted the resident bad girl, a woman that most men wanted but nobody could touch. She flipped her chin-length, two-toned hair carelessly to the side to keep it from her pretty face. Her emerald eyes glittered with the promise of mischief and wickedness. Her short leather miniskirt exposed bare long legs which were the fantasy of every man and the envy of most girls.

More than a few men wanted to ask out the Rogue, the untouchable one.

But right now, she was flanked with two men who nobody, not even the worst bullies in the campus, would want to cross. Beside her walked Lance Alvers and Pietro Maximoff. 

The two groups of people met each other in front of the Cajun Casanova's bike.

They stared each other down.

"Well, are we all just going to stand here, glaring at each other, or are we gonna go?" A cold, calculating voice demanded.

A smirk crossed Rogue's pretty face. Even without turning around, she knew that that was her friend and roommate, Wanda, Pietro's twin sister.

"Let's go then," their leader, Lance led the group into walking to their ride, his jeep. "Hey, Kitty-Cat," he greeted the brunette as he passed by.

But as Rogue passed Scott, she couldn't help but hold out her right index finger and lightly touch the older teen's chin. "Hey, sugah," she drawled with a very sexy Southern accent.

Scott reddened as Jean frowned. 

"Remy's jealous, _chere_," an amused voice whispered in her ear as Rogue walked forward, a hand briefly touching her waist. "And don't believe we've met,"

Rogue smiled sweetly at him. But the words she spat out were anything but. "Touch me and die, _Cajun_,"

Remy was more turned-on than put off with her statement because of her Southern accent. But he did immediately remove his hand from her.

Rogue walked after her friends, known to them as the Brotherhood.

Remy grinned as his eyes followed the retreating team. The Brotherhood, Evan had told him, and the X-Men, the team of mutant teenagers he was currently living with, have a long-standing rivalry, all of which started with their mentors-benefactors, Eric Lensherr and Charles Xavier respectively.

Remy looked from Rogue to Jean. The two women couldn't be anymore different, but they both intrigued him.

Jean Grey was Miss Popularity, well-liked and famous in the campus. She was a straight-A student, a member of most of the varsity teams. Heck, she was even a cheerleader. She was beautiful and smart and kind-hearted. She was the type of girl that every guy fell in love with at least once. She was almost perfect, an angel that had graced the halls of their pathetic little high school.

Rogue, on the other hand, was Jean's opposite, though no less popular. Favoring dark-colored clothes and make-up, and hanging out with the bad boys, she had this inaccessible air about her. She was the forbidden fruit, someone that a man can only have in his darkest and wildest dreams. She was temptation personified.

"Need a ride, _cher_?" He asked Jean.

Jean hesitated for a moment before determinedly nodded her head.

And if flirting with the school's two most beautiful women in Bayville would piss off the fearless leader of the X-men, then that would simply be an added bonus for Remy.

The smirk was back on his handsome face. Maybe he will give Bayville a chance after all.

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"Here," Pietro tossed a blanket towards Rogue who was seated on the back beside his sister.

"Thanks," Rogue grinned as she draped the blanket around her legs to avoid Wanda accidentally touching her bare skin.

"What I don't understand is why you keep on insisting on wearing such revealing outfits." Wanda grumbled as Lance started the Jeep.

"I like livin' dangerously," Rogue replied with a wicked smile.

"That's my Roguey," Pietro laughed, but he immediately sobered up upon his sister's glare.

"Where's Kurt?" Rogue asked.

"Walking his girlfriend home," Lance grumbled.

"Jealous?" Wanda sneered. All of them knew of Lance silly infatuation with the brunette freshman member of the X-men. 

The Brotherhood and the X-men had arrived in Lance and Kitty's hometown around the same time, but Kitty opted to go with the geeks while Pietro was able to convince Lance to 'go with the winner.'

But that doesn't mean Lance has to like his separation with his Kitty Cat.

"'S funny," Rogue told them as Lance drove out of the school ground. "Out of the five of us, it's only the Fuzzy Elf who has anything resembling a love life,"

"Speak for yourself, Roguey," Pietro, from the front passenger seat looked at her through the rearview mirror. "I've got four dates lined up this weekend."

Wanda snorted. "As if father would let any of us out of his sight, not after we failed to recruit the Cajun,"

"Well, we never really had the chance to recruit him, him being that Weather Witch's friends and all," Pietro snorted.

"And thank God for that," Rogue interjected. "Can you just imagine him living in the Boarding House?" She shuddered. "As far as I'm concerned, they can have him,"

"You really don't like him, do you," Lance mused in amusement.

"No, she would rather hold hands and make gooey eyes with Scooott," Pietro teased.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Oh, grow up," she told Pietro. "I like Scott, he's nice."

"And nice translates to boring," Lance added helpfully. "I thought good girls go for bad boys," 

"Don't worry, Lance," Rogue told him. "Girls like Kitty would be all over your bad boy image." She grinned sexily. "As for me, I've never been a good girl myself,"

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The woman known as Mystique easily breached the security of the heavily guarded government facility. Adopting the physical form of the man she just knocked out, the lower-ranked guards let her pass through without much question. And when she reached the door, her extensive knowledge in computers and electronics, along with her ability to duplicate the fingerprints, retina, and voice of a person, allowed her access to the chamber where one of the most powerful mutant reside.

She immediately spotted the console.

Walking towards it, she then punched in a complicated string of numbers and letters that she had memorized just moments before.

She grinned as the red light on the small panel before her turned to green.

Her mission was a success.

In a few hours, Cain Marko, better known as Juggernaut, would be set free.

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"Rogue! Hey, Roguey! Can you keep it down? Some people are trying to think here!" Pietro knocked loudly on the girls' room. "Rogue!"

Suddenly, the door swung open but instead of the smiling face of Rogue, he saw his sister's scowling face. "What do you want?" She demanded harshly.

"Eep!" Pietro shuddered. He would much rather face his father's anger than his sister's wrath anytime of the day. "Nothing," he said quickly as he disappeared from her sight as quickly as he can.

Rogue, who was walking up the stairs to the room she and Wanda shared, felt only a breeze that ruffled her already-messy hair.

Wanda saw her. "And what happened to you?" Wanda frowned as she took in Rogue's messy hair, sweaty body, and rumpled clothes.

"Rough session with Sabertooth." Rogue flinched as she walked into the room and collapsed on her bed. "I swear, Wanda, that guy is out to kill me,"

Wanda shook her head. "What I don't understand is why you're killing yourself with all these exercises. I mean, you have more sessions than the rest of the team combined!"

Rogue sighed. This was a conversation that repeated many times in the past. "Wanda, you know that if I wanted some control on my powers, I have to push myself harder than others."

"I know." Wanda frowned. "But look at you. You're half-dead." She paused. "Not that I care or anything,"

Rogue grinned. She knew that she was probably Wanda's first friend, having grown up in a mental facility where her father had kept her when her powers were too much for a kid to handle. "You should talk," she chided her. "You spend more time with Miss Agatha Harkness than I do with my trainin' sessions,"

"That's different." Wanda crossed her arms. "I like my sessions with Agatha."

"Right." Rogue nodded. "But I like the results I'm getting from my sessions. I mean, look at me now, I can manifest the powers of the past people I absorbed before without touching them again,"

Wanda frowned. "Rogue, that wasn't a result of your training. You got that from touching the dying shape shifter half a year ago."

"I didn't touch him," Rogue winced. They barely talked about that incident. It was one she would rather forget. "He touched me," she said in her defense.

"Sorry,"

"'S OK," Rogue shrugged as she closed her eyes. That memory was shoved down in her subconscious. She would much rather forget about that.

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_X-Men, assemble quick!_ The telepathic order still gave Remy the creeps. He would never get used to a spook in his head.

When he wandered in the meeting room, most of the team is already there.

"Juggernaut was able to escape his containment facility, again," Professor X was saying.

Scott balled his fist. "We've got to stop him,"

"Who's the _homme_?" Remy asked as he lazily shuffled his cards. "Old friend?"

"My half-brother, actually," the professor replied.

"Yikes," 

"Wolverine and Storm are both out of the country," the professor continued. "So that means everything depends on you, X-Men,"

"We understand, professor," Scott nodded. 

"Remember, take his helmet off. That protects him from psychic attacks. I'll take care of the rest once you've done that,"

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Remy, better known on the streets as Gambit, took out his last deck of cards from his trench coat that he insisted on wearing above his X-Men issued uniform. He took one card from the deck and charged it. "_Merde_," he muttered as Juggernaut took Cyclops by the neck and flung him back towards a building. Great. Out of the original five, only him and Jean Grey were conscious, the rest were knocked out or only half conscious. 

He threw the card at the large mutant's feet, hoping to distract him away from Miss Grey. "That's right, come to Gambit," he taunted the man.

Slowly, Juggernaut turned to him. "You want to die, boy?"

Remy smirked. The plan was to take off the helmet, right? And should be a no-brainer for a thief like him.

Twirling his Bo staff on one hand, he went off to a running start. Using his Bo staff for leverage, he took off the ground and launched himself at Juggernaut, hoping to use his speed and thief skills to steal the helmet.

But it seems that he underestimated the large man's speed. 

Juggernaut quickly used his thick arms to deflect Gambit, throwing him forward.

Gambit turned in mid-air so he was able to land on his feet. "_Dieu_," he muttered. 

Juggernaut threw a large boulder at him, but Jean Grey deflected it with her telepathy.

"Thanks, Jeannie," Remy grinned at her.

"No problem," she smiled back.

"Argh!" Juggernaut started to attack.

Remy and Jean were immediately on the defensive.

But before anything could happen, a hooded figure placed himself in between the two X-Men and the Juggernaut.

"Do you have a death wish, _mon ami_?" Remy called out as the cloaked figure didn't even try to place himself out of the path of the rampaging mutant.

But the mysterious figure simply held out her hands.

Then, Juggernaut was lifted up telekinetically.

Jean frowned. The mutant has a telekinesis stronger than hers. 

But Juggernaut struggled and that caused a break in the concentration of the newcomer. Juggernaut was unceremoniously dropped on the ground. 

"Remove his helmet!" Jean called out.

The hood moved, indicating to the two that he was nodding. Once again he held out his hands.

Remy and Jean waited expectantly. 

Nothing happened.

"Uh-oh." A familiar voice said.

Jean frowned. "Rogue?" She asked.

Rogue shrugged as she took off her hood. "I can't access Mag's powers," she said as she tried again.

Nothing.

"What now, _chere_?" Remy asked her.

"Guys? A little help?" Rogue called out. "I could use a hex bolt or something,"

Wanda stepped from the shadows and directed a doze of her power towards Juggernaut. 

Juggernaut charged forward, but fell down violently. 

"Remove his helmet, you say," Rogue focused on Pietro's power. She was on Juggernaut's side in an instant. The helmet was off in a flash. 

_Professor_. Jean called out.

But before the professor could reply, Rogue had removed her gloves and placed her hand on Juggernaut.

Two tortured screams filled the air.

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"Rogue, have you been putting on weight?" Lance grumbled as he removed Rogue's form from his shoulder and dumped her on her bed.

"Omph," Rogue groaned as she was too tired to protest.

Wanda shook her head. "Yet another power to add to your growing repertoire," she muttered as she opened the windows to let the breeze in.

"Do you think that the X-Men made it through OK?" Lance asked.

Wanda rolled her eyes. "Yes, Lance, your pretty Kitty's fine. Last thing I saw before we took off was Wolverine loading her up in the Geek Jeep."

"Hey!" Lance frowned.

"Aw, shut up." Rogue mumbled as she buried herself deeper into her bed. 

Lance and Wanda looked at each other, for once in their lives in perfect sync. Each grabbing a pillow, they simultaneously threw it at the prone girl.

"Hey!"

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"It certainly was no accident," the professor told Storm and Wolverine as he tinkered with the console as the tank that held his half-brother's body slowly descend into a containment chamber below.

Wolvervine sniffed. "Mystique." He snarled.

"Yes. Quite." The professor nodded. "But why? What does she have to gain by setting him free?"

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**~tbc**

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P.S.

I would love to hear what you think so far. So read and review! Thanks! Kisses!


	2. Recruiting Todd

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. * 

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A/N: 

I know, I know, Z'cann, the Skrull who made Rogue's powers go haywire, was female, but I'm taking some liberties here! Artistic license, dude!

I'm also making Irene Adler aka Destiny more powerful to enable the Brotherhood to have equal footing with the X-Men in finding new recruits. I mean, come on. What chance would they have against the Cerebro?

Oh, and I've decided Kurt is a Wagner (because that's the name of his dad) but he was raised by Mystique. Rogue, on the other hand, was with Irene in Mississippi until her powers manifested because Mystique wanted to keep her hidden from the eyes of Xavier (who would be suspicious as to why Mystique adopted a random kid). OK, OK, Kurt occasionally visited.

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Chapter 2 

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Rogue panted  heavily as she pushed the vines and branches off her path as she blindly ran forward. "Momma!" She called out in desperation. 

Barely a week in the Brotherhood Boarding House, barely even getting along with Magneto's children, her adopted mother, Mystique, chose her to join them on a reconnaissance mission. 

_Rogue's guardian, Irene Adler, had foreseen that an unknown power would be unlocked in the forest of Australia. _

_Magneto, the invisible hand that moves their little team, wanted whatever power that was, and Mystique was only too happy to oblige._

_Rogue had wandered off while Mystique investigated the premises. What Rogue didn't know was how easy it was to get lost in the place._

_She tried calling out again._

_"This is hopeless," she grumbled as she adjusted the gloves on her hand. A lot of help her powers were._

_Rogue frowned. She thought she heard something. She shrugged. Must be wishful thinking._

_Wait! There it was again!_

_Abruptly changing directions, she cautiously walked towards the source of the sound._

_Parting a particularly thick vegetation, she gasped as she saw a man lying facedown on the ground._

_She gasped as she took off to a running start. "Sir!" She called out. "Sir! Are you OK?" She knelt down beside him. She turned him so that he would be lying on his back. "Mister! Hey, mister!" _

_The man groaned. He opened his eyes slowly. "Where am I?"_

_"You're alive!" Rogue exclaimed._

_The man shoved her away. "You!"_

_Rogue frowned. "Sir?"_

_"Get away from me," he said he tried to push her away. Unfortunately, he accidentally touched her bare face._

Rogue screamed.

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"Rogue! Rogue!" 

Rogue's eyes flew open. 

"Rogue! Are you alright?" Wanda asked with a frown as she sat down on Rogue's bed. "You were screaming in your sleep."

Rogue sat back up. She tiredly rubbed her eyes. "I had that dream again," she blew out a breath in an attempt to control her breathing. "I'm OK now."

"Go back to sleep." Wanda told her as she stood up and made her way towards her own bed. "We still have school tomorrow."

Rogue groaned. "Don't remind me."

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"Gross!" 

Rogue and Wanda sat on the living room couch, watching the Discovery Channel in morbid fascination.

"I didn't know bullfrogs eat each other," Rogue commented, disgusted beyond belief but unable to turn her eyes away from the scene before her.

Lance walked in the room. "Girls," he called out. 

Wanda glared at him. "Girls?"

"Er, ladies!" He amended. "I meant ladies. Ladies, Mystique wants us to assemble,"  he said dramatically.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Right behind you, sugah."

Wanda and Rogue followed Lance into a room where Irene Adler was sitting. She would have looked normal except for the large contraption that she was sitting on. It looked like a very expensive chair, only, it was not made of leather or what not, but of metals and machines.

The chair was dubbed by the teen mutants as the Destiny Machine, a contraption that amplifies the precog's powers a hundredfold, pretty much similar to how the Cerebro amplifies Xavier's.

"Irene found a new mutant," Mystique explained as she stood beside Irene. "And she also saw that Xavier would be leaving soon to recruit someone else."

"The mutant has amphibian-like powers, like a frog or a toad, I am not sure." Irene said. "He has the lower body strength, the dexterity," she gave a rare smile. "He even has the tongue."

Rogue elbowed Wanda. "Remember the bullfrogs?"

"I cannot see the mutant Xavier is interested in very clearly," Irene continued. "Though I can point you in the direction he and his team will be going to,"

"Peitro and Lance," Mystique said. "One of you would recruit the mutant. The other must follow Xavier and find out the newest addition to his collection. I trust that you will not fail?"

Pietro and Lance both nodded. 

"Dibs on Xavier," Pietro said quickly.

Lance made a face, not at all excited to recruit a frog-like creature.

"And Kurt's with me on this one," Pietro added, not wanting to be stuck on a mission with his sister.

"I guess the gir—I mean ladies—are with me," Lance sighed. Great. A frog, a witch, and a mutant with powers she could barely control. This is going to be one fun mission.

"Have you found Magneto yet?" Mystique asked as Irene tiredly rubbed her temples.

Irene shook her head. She had been searching for Magneto in the future when she detected a future disturbance to be caused by a young mutant toad. "I will find him." The blind mutant assured the shape shifter. "After all, no one can escape destiny."

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Rogue frowned as she stealthily crept forward. The moment they arrived in their destination, Lance immediately suggested that they split up to cover more ground and find the mutant.

She crouched down as she saw Lance already walking on the path leading towards the old and rickety house, ready to provide assistance at the slightest hint of trouble.

She was so intent on watching that she didn't hear someone move behind her until it was too late. A gloved palm covered her mouth as an arm snaked its way around her waist.

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"Sheesh," Lance muttered as he knocked on the door of the house that was in a bad need of repair. He knocked again when no one answered.

The place gives him the creeps, but he was secured in the knowledge that Wanda and Rogue were hidden somewhere, watching his back.

"Hello!" Lance called out as he knocked again. He turned the knob. He grimaced when he saw that his hand was now covered in slime of some sort from the knob. "Great," he shook his head. But he did learn that the door was opened. He swung open the  door and almost fainted at the smell that assaulted him.

"Like, ew!" Someone from behind him complained.

Lance whirled around. "Kitty?"

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"'Allo, _petite_," a deep, husky voice whispered in Rogue's ear.

Rogue would've groaned had not a hand been on her mouth. What would Mystique say? Her protégé had allowed someone to sneak up behind her and take her by surprise. She tried to tap into her powers, rather into Magneto's powers, the one her mother was currently training her to control.

Suddenly, Gambit was thrown backwards when a magnetic shield formed itself around Rogue.

"Finally," he though he heard Rogue mutter. 

"Remy knows what you mean, _cher_," he said. "'M sorry you had to wait, but Gambit had to ditch his teammates before he can meet you here,"

"That's not what I meant, Swamp Rat," she snapped at him. She was referring to her finally accessing Magneto's powers. She was mad, not at him but at herself. "What are you doing here?" She asked suspiciously.

"Right now? Looking at the most _belle femme_ in New York,"

"I'm flattered," she waved her arms dismissively. "Just don't Lil' Miss Grey hear ya, lovah, or she'll kick your cute lil' behind back to the swamps you came from."

Remy smirked. "Jealous, _cher_?"

"Sure, sugah. Whatever rocks your boat." She then held out her hand as a piece of cable that was harmlessly lying around started to wrap itself around Gambit.

"Bondage," he grinned seductively at her. "Bit kinky for a first date, don't you think?" 

Rogue ignored him as she turned her communicator on. "Wanda, Lance, we've got company,"

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Wanda frowned as she explored the place. She grimaced as she stepped into mud. Great. Her boots was dirty.

She stifled a sigh as she wandered around. She felt something shift in her surroundings. She looked up. 

She saw a small patch of mud. Something from its depths shifted.

Then slowly, slowly, mud rose, higher and higher. Until…

And she screamed.

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"Kitty?" Lance frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Kitty giggled nervously. "Same thing you are, I suppose,"

"So," Lance glanced around. "Where're your friends?"

Kitty looked at him suspiciously. "Where's yours?"

_"Wanda, Lance, we've got company,_" Rogue's voice came out of his communicator.

"Yeah, well, could've used the warning two minutes ago, Rogue." Lance replied.

"Oh." Kitty frowned. "You're here with Rogue?"

Lance shrugged. "Yeah."

"I saw you carrying her when she fainted from absorbing Juggernaut." Kitty told him. 

"Yeah."

"So, the two of you are really close, huh?"

"Yeah." 

Kitty nervously twirled a lock of hair around her fingers. "So you like her?"

"Yeah." Lance replied. "Wait, what?"

"Well, she's one of the prettiest girl in school, after Jean, that is,"

"Jean is not prettier than Rogue." Lance contradicted her. No matter how much he liked Kitty, he was not about to admit that the X-Men were better than the Brotherhood in any respects.

"So you do like her!" Kitty accused him.

"Well, yeah!" Lance shot back. "She's my teammate!" 

"You're one clueless _homme_, _mon ami_," Remy said as he joined the two on the porch of the house. "What's the smell?" He asked when he noticed the stench coming out of the house.

Lance's eyes rolled back into his head as he prepared to rock the ground to keep Gambit from moving any closer.

"Like, stop!" Kitty cried out as she held Lance's arms to keep him from commanding the earth to swallow her teammate.

"The _petite _likes you," Gambit told him as he reached into his pockets for his cards to ease the itching of his hands. 

"Gambit!" Kitty's whine reached inhumane proportions as she blushed red. 

"Relax, _petite_." Remy gave her a disarming grin as he started to shuffle lazily. "The _homme _feels the same way, everyone knows that. Now if the two of you just get together so the rest of us can go back to livin' our lives," his voice was cut off as Lance rocked the land beneath his feet.

"Lance!" A southern drawl broke Lance's concentration before he can inflict serious damage towards the Cajun.

Lance frowned. "What is it, Rogue?"

Rogue suddenly stopped when she saw Gambit. "What's he doin' here? I left him trapped back there,"

Gambit grinned at his unexpected savior. "Gambit's good with his hands, _cher_." His red on black eyes flirting shamelessly with her. "Very good."

"I don't have time for this," Rogue muttered, worried that Wanda hadn't answered any of her calls. "Lance, let's go!"

"Wait!" Kitty called out as Lance started to follow after Rogue.

Lance turned back around, torn between Kitty and following Rogue.

"Lance!" Rogue called out. "Hurry. I think Wanda's in trouble."

"See you later, pretty Kitty,"

But Kitty had other ideas as she run after Lance.

Remy smirked. This was going to be fun.

*

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"Neither of them are replying," Cyclops told Jean through the communicator. Jean and Evan had accompanied Professor Xavier to the house of Bobby Drake, a new mutant they were trying to recruit. Cyclops, Gambit, and Shadowcat went to the other location.

But Cyclops lost his two team members as soon as  he gave the go-signal for them to search the premises. Great. What a good team leader he made, not even able to keep tabs on two people, even if one has the ability to become intangible while the other was a professional thief. 

"I'm sure they're fine, Scott," Jean told him. "Things are doing great here, Bobby Drake, that's the new mutant recruit, may be moving in the Institute as soon as possible."

"Alright. I'll try and look for them. Cyclops out." He sighed. This was going to be one long mission.

"Get away from her, you mud monster!" Rogue shouted as she saw the patch of mud rise up and form a human figure. She ran towards the shocked Wanda.

Lance placed himself in front of the girls and called upon the earth underneath the monster to move.

The monster gave an inhuman-like cry and fell down, back into the mud.

The three members of the Brotherhood stood there a moment later, waiting for the monster to rise up again.

"Do you think he's gone?" Rogue frowned.

Lance turned to the girls as he flexed his muscles. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him if he comes back."

"Wait. What if that's the new mutant Irene was talking about?" Rogue persisted.

"I don't think so," Lance replied. "She said an amphibian-like mutant, not a mud monster."

Wanda nodded. "I never knew Irene to be wrong before," she added.

The three were facing each other, unmindful of their surroundings.

"But still, there's a first time for everything," Rogue shrugged.

"The problem with you, Rogue is that you don't have a lot of faith in people." Lance admonished the girl with the two-toned hair.

"Look out!" A male voice called out.

The three turned automatically.

They saw a charged card flutter down their feet.

The three screamed as they all leaped in different directions for cover.

The card exploded.

"Cajun!" Rogue thundered. "Are you trying to kill us?"

Gambit didn't reply, instead, he charged another card, the red of his eyes burning brightly.

And when Rogue looked to where the Cajun was staring, she saw the mud monster down on the spot they stood on moments earlier.

Gambit was about to let go of the other charged card when the monster help up its hand, as if in surrender. "I give, yo." It suddenly spoke.

Wanda and Rogue stared blankly at each other.

Slowly, the mud monster began to wipe at its face. Beneath the layers of mud, they saw a patch of what seemed to be brownish-green skin.

"I'm not a monster, yo." It was a boy. A boy with yellowish skin and bug-eyes, but a boy nonetheless. "The name is Todd," it said as it stood up and shook itself like a dog to rid itself of mud.

"Ew!" Kitty protested as bits of mud from the boy hit her.

"Don't make any sudden moves," Lance threatened him, not wanting Gambit to look cooler than he is in front of Kitty.

"What do you think you were doing?" Gambit demanded from the newcomer, his charged card still at hand.

"I just want to look at the girl, yo." Todd admitted with what seemed to be a blush.

"You better not mean Gambit's _fille_," he said, nodding towards Rogue.

Rogue was about to protest that she wasn't anyone's property when she realized that doing so might encourage the slimy creature to pursue her. So she kept quiet. She'll slam that swamp rat later.

"No! No!" Todd denied hotly. "The other one," he pointed towards Wanda. "Don't want to scare her, yo. So I thought I would use stealth, you know, like a secret agent or something,"

Wanda made a disgusted face.

"So you decide to roll on the mud?" Lance asked incredulously as he gathered his two teammates beside him. 

"Well, seemed like a good idea at the time." Todd admitted.

"Do you think he's the mutant Irene was talking about?" Rogue whispered to Lance and Wanda as Todd talked.

Wanda shuddered. "I sure hope not."

Lance looked critically at the boy. He looks like a mutant, with his skin and long legs that seemed to be disproportional to his short body. Lance wondered what his mutation was, aside from his physical appearance.

A fly buzzed around the boy. Quickly, Todd's long tongue snapped out and captured the fly.

"Gross!" Kitty cried out. She and the girls looked sick. Heck, even Lance felt sick himself.

"I don't think I want to take him back," Wanda muttered. "Maybe we should let the X-Men have him."

Rogue nodded.

Lance was about to agree when suddenly, Scott Summers burst out from the vegetation behind them.

"Whoa!" Todd cried out, obviously caught by surprise. He stumbled a few steps backwards, but not before spitting out a splotch of green goop right in the face of the X-Men leader.

"Mmmph!" Cyclops protested as he angrily tried to pry off the slime of his face. But it seemed to have solidified.

Gambit looked amused. So did Lance.

Only Kitty looked worried, but she was unwilling to touch whatever it was that came out of Todd's mouth.

Lance grinned. "I think we may make a soldier out of that geek yet," he laughed as he watched Scott struggle futilely against the stuff Todd spat out. 

*

*

*

"Uh," Wanda groaned. "Whose bright idea was it to recruit Kermit the Frog?" She glared at Kurt and Rogue, during a lunch period.

Raven Darkholme being the principal of Bayville High, it was a snap to enroll a certain Todd Tolanski to their school. 

"Well, Lance saw the precision and the distance Todd launched his spit and saw his potential, I guess." Rogue shrugged.

Kurt nodded. "_Ja._ But what does Lance plan to do? Gross out the X-Men with how disgusting that boy could be? He ate flies for breakfast! He made me lose my appetite!"

Rogue laughed. "It's high time you go on a diet anyway, Elf," she said affectionately. "And besides, I think he's sweet on Wanda."

"Did he really call Wanda sweet cheeks?" Kurt asked in amusement.

Rogue nodded. "And honey cakes, plus angel pie,"

"Stop it, if you don't want to be an unwilling guinea pig the next time I have a session with Agatha." Wanda warned the siblings.

Rogue snorted as she crossed and re-crossed her legs. Such threats from Wanda were nothing new. But, she supposed she should stop, after all, Wanda did turn her one and only twin brother into a moving target when she was learning to aim her lethal hex bolts.

Kurt, who was seated directly in front of his sister, noticed that the jocks at the next table had stopped eating. Instead, their jaws dropped wide open and were openly staring at his sister. He followed their line of sight. He grumbled. They were staring at his sister's legs.

Rogue was wearing a long skirt that day. However, its side has a very high slit. And when she re-crossed her legs, the slit fell down, exposing more skin than Kurt was happy with. Reaching across the table, Kurt took one side of the slit and tugged it upwards to cover Rogue's legs.

A few audible groans reached his elf-like ears, which were hidden by the image-inducer Magneto gave him.

Rogue met his eyes and raised an eyebrow. Then, the tugged the piece of cloth that covered her legs downwards and revealed the leg Kurt was trying to keep covered.

Kurt glared at her.

Rogue smirked. "Let 'em look, sugah." She told him before taking a sip of her juice. She then slowly licked her lips.

Someone from the other table moaned, no doubt finding Rogue's actions much too seductive.

Kurt's head turned and glared at the offending person.

Wanda snorted. "Stop messing with their heads, Rogue."

"And where would be the fun in that?" Rogue laughed.

"What I don't understand," Wanda continued. "Is why they still go gaga over you even during the times when you're all covered up."

Rogue grinned. "Just goes on to show you, sugah," she replied, slapping her brother's hand as he yet again attempted to cover her legs. "Is that sexiness is a state of mind," she gestured over where Jean and her X-geeks were sitting. "And not in the amount of flesh you show." 

Wanda smirked as she looked at Miss Perfect herself, wearing a loose tank top and pants that showed off a hint of her midriff, pretty much her official school uniform. Her red, red hair tumbled down her shoulders. Jean rarely showed a lot of skin.

Like Jean, all Rogue usually shows were a sliver of flesh here and a leg or two there, and yet the two women were tied for the sexiest student in Bayville High. 

*

*

*

**~tbc**

*

PS.

I know, I know. The Destiny Machine. How much more corny can I get? But what I'm trying to impress upon you guys is that everything the X-Men has, the Brotherhood has too.

The table conversation between Rogue, Wanda, and Kurt was inspired when one of my girl friends asked a guy friend of ours (who was a certified skirt-chaser) if he thinks we're sexy (meaning the women in our group). He was the only guy in our table then so he can't turn to anyone for support. And to our surprise, without batting an eyelash, he answered in the affirmative. He said that being sexy it not just  the way one looks (but he was quick to admit that of course it matters), but with the way we conduct ourselves. Of course, the next question was, if we were so sexy, then how come no one's asking us out yet (to which he took longer to answer).

*

Thanks to the following:

**Solitaire3:** yeah. I was toying with the idea of a bad Rogue for a while, I mean she was one sexy siren in the comics, not afraid to use her beauty and charm to get close to a guy, and them wham! The guy ends up in a coma, not knowing what hit him. 

**Sunset Rose**: hope this installment is worth the wait.

**Ishandahalf**: once again you've awed me with your special ability to read _and_ review almost all the _chapters_ of most, if not all, the romy stories out there. I mean, the first thing I do whenever I plan on reading a XME fic is to check if you've reviewed them. You and your reviews are some of the reasons why the Romy fandom has flourished. Thank you for that.

**Sweet like chocolate**: I think Mystique is trying to take over the world! And you won't get me to divulge anymore than that. Not even under the pain of torture. Actually, I'm not sure myself. Tried asking the plotbunnies, but they  just gave me a scary smile, so I left them alone.

          **Bad-girl4**: hope this is soon enough. But sorry, hun, I don't have a mailing list, but I am flattered that you asked. 

          **mAd RoGuE**: thanks, sweetie. The last part, I whole-heartedly dedicate to you. 

          **Thunderfox 150:** Lots of thanks for reading and reviewing this story too. Like you, I think Rogue is a better fit with the Brotherhood. But is is just me or did you also notice that lately XME portrays the Brotherhood so pathetically. Weren't they able to beat the X-Men in Part 1 of The Cauldron (season 1)? 

          **Winter Fire**: Thanks. Please let me know what you think about this one!

          **Katrina5**: At first I was worried about how I placed Rogue and Kurt in the Brotherhood. I even wrote a version where Kurt was in the X-Men, but I just couldn't bear to separate the siblings (and my story wouldn't work with Rogue in the X-Men). Glad you liked it.

          **Mercury Dream**: Did somebody ask for Toad and Kurt? And Freddy's coming, don't worry. Wait for his debut. And thank you for adding me to your favorites list. I am so flattered. 


	3. Greener on the other Side

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

*

A/N: I think I now have an idea of where I want this to go. =)

*

For Amanda…

*

Chapter 3 

*

*

*

The Darkholme siblings stood back to back, both breathing heavily. Most of the men who tried to kill the two of them were already on the ground. 

They were tired and sore, and they still have to go to school.

"Good. The two of you are getting better," they heard their mother say, but her voice was flat, lacking the proud tone that most parents have when their children had done something remarkably exceptional. "That's enough. I'll see you after school."

Almost immediately, their surroundings shifted, revealing a metallic room with android creatures smoking and smoldering on the ground. The Brotherhood War Zone, a combination of Magneto's control of machines and Mastermind's illusions. 

Kurt slid down and sighed in relief. "I was almost convinced that she was trying to kill us."

Rogue laughed. "And that would be different from our other training sessions, how?"

Kurt grinned as he let his sister help him stand up. "I've got bruises on my bruises." He admitted. He checked his watch. "Alright. I still have twenty minutes before breakfast. A hot shower is definitely in order." With that, he ported out of the room.

"Oh, no!" Rogue groaned. She broke into a running start. She and Wanda had kitchen duty for breakfast!

*

*

*

Kitty groaned as she rubbed her aching backside from the Danger Room floor. 

Gambit leapt in front of her and deflected a volley of painful metal balls by twirling his staff. He then charged a card and sent it whirling to the machine that shot them.

Unfortunately, he must have miscalculated as the card produced an explosion bigger than he anticipated.

The X-Men that were in the room—himself, Shadowcat, and Cyclops—were thrown back by the intensity of the blast.

"Alright, kids, that's enough for today." Wolverine growled to the communicator. 

"That was so cool!" The new recruit, Ice Boy to Wolverine, gushed. "I can't wait to try that out!"

Wolverine ignored the younger boy and shut off the training sequence. Good thing he saw Gambit shielding half-pint from the discharge with his body, otherwise, one Cajun would have to go to school missing a limb. "Hit the showers, all of you. You still have school."

From down below, Gambit extended a hand towards Kitty. "You alright, _petite_?" Gambit asked as he straightened up and pulled Kitty to her feet.

"What on earth was that, Gambit?" Cyclops demanded as he got to his feet. "Are you trying to kill us?"

"_Non_, Scooter." Gambit looked at him seriously. "Gambit's sorry." He shrugged as he made his way out of the metal room.

Cyclops's jaw dropped. Did Gambit just apologize? To him? 

Gambit shook his head as he walked away. He looked at his hands in disgust. This was the reason Jean-Luc sent him to Xavier. 

"Hey, Remy!" Kitty ran after him.

"_Oui_, _ma chere_?" He asked as he turned around and waited expectantly for the younger girl.

"Uh, thanks for helping me back there," Kitty told him.

Gambit shrugged. "It be Gambit's fault there was an explosion, _petite_," he replied.

"Oh." Kitty sighed. 

Gambit shook his head. "Gambit's powers, they grow so fast nobody could keep up, not even Gambit."

"So you, like, have another power?" Kitty asked as she walked with Gambit towards the top floor.

"What do you mean?"

"You said powers, plural. I mean, like, can you anything else aside for making things go boom?"

Gambit looked at his small friend in admiration. So she does have something between her skull aside from air. He would have to watch himself around her. "_Non_," he replied. "Just a grammatical slip. Gambit, he doesn't have a good grip on the language as much as he wanted," and apparently, he doesn't have a good grip on his powers either, the reason why Jean-Luc insisted he go train with Xavier.

*

*

*

"What kept you?" Wanda glared at her as she mixed the egg batter a little more forcefully than necessary.

"I'm sorry," Rogue apologized as she panted from her running, her hair still wet from the fast-shower she had just taken. "War Room training with Kurt."

Wanda didn't reply.

Rogue nodded as she bent down to get the frying pan from a cabinet below. She then turned on the stove and placed the pan on it. She carefully poured out oil.

"So, how was it?" Wanda was now taking the raw hotdogs out of their plastic packages.

Rogue shrugged. "I like morning sessions better than the ones I have absorbing people," she made a face. 

"You like anything more than absorbing people," Wanda said as she turned to the stove. Her eyes widened. "Rogue!" She cried out in exasperation. "We just need oil to fry things in, not swim in it."

"Oh," Rogue shrugged. "Did I put in too much?"

Wanda rolled her eyes at her culinary-inept friend.

"I guess I'll just put back some," Rogue grumbled as she took the handle of the pan. "Ouch! Hot."

"Try the potholder," Wanda growled as she turned to put back the hotdogs that they weren't going to cook back in the fridge.

Rogue looked around but didn't see the potholder. But she did see a dish towel. Shrugging, she took the dish towel and wrapped one side of it on the handle of the pan.

When Wanda turned around, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Rogue! The towel's on fire!" She cried out.

Rogue yelped as she quickly put down the pan. She then threw the towel on the sink, unfortunately, the window curtains, which was gently being blown by the wind, caught fire. It immediately spread.

"Wanda! Do something!" Rogue yelped as she looked around for water. 

"You are so helpless," Wanda glared at her as she tried to stop the fire with her powers. But it only made the fire bigger.

"Wanda!" Rogue cried out.

"I'm trying my best here!" Wanda shot out. "Fire's too unpredictable for me to control."

Rogue then used Magneto's control of magnetism to pull out the valve of the faucet. Water came pouring out, but it was right at them, not towards the burning curtain!  
  


"Rogue!" Wanda spluttered out. She then directed a hex beam on the running water, making the water change directions, this time on the curtains.

"Whew." Rogue said relief as the fire died down. She then commanded the valve to return.

Wanda looked around the ruined kitchen, not to mention their ruined food.

"Um, I guess that means take-out for breakfast," Rogue said weakly.

"Irene's so gonna kill you,"

*

*

*

"Mmmm, smells good," Jean sighed as she sat down to breakfast that morning.

"Yeah, you can bet Kitty didn't make breakfast this morning." Bobby shuddered, obviously remembering the day before when Kitty attempted to cook for them.

"Hey!" Kitty protested as she bounded in the room. 

"Breakfast is served, _mes amies_," Remy declared dramatically as he walked into the room carrying a platter of pancakes.

Jean giggled as she saw him wearing a large, frilly apron. On any other boy, it would have looked ridiculous, but on him, it looked adorable.

"For the _belle fille_," Remy said as he set a plate of pancakes and bacon before Jean.

"_Merci_," Jean murmured.

"So, Bobby, ready for your first day of school?" Scott asked as he walked into the room, buttoning his shirt and glaring at Remy, who had commandeered his seat beside Jean.

Bobby grimaced. "Don't remind me," he was not looking forward to school. After all, he was a new kid, and a freshman at that. He was so sure that he's going to be beaten up by bullies that day.

"You cooked?" Scott asked suspiciously as he forked himself the Cajun-made pancakes.

"_Oui_," Remy replied smoothly without taking his eyes from Jean. "It's a bit simple for Remy, he prefers things hot and spicy,"

"Er, right," Scott replied as he took a tentative bite, not noticing that Jean's cheeks were turning to the color of her hair. The pancakes were actually pretty good, but he doesn't know if that was because Remy was a good cook or simply because _anything_ would taste better after Kitty's cooking. "Where's Evan?"

"The last I saw of him, he's still in the shower," Bobby replied innocently.

"Yeah, screaming about the water being ice cold," Kitty glared at Bobby.

"Who, me?"

*

*

*

"Hey, why are we having cereals for breakfast? I thought Rogue and Wanda are in kitchen duty." Pietro complained as he picked up a now-empty carton of milk. "Not that I'm complaining," he quickly amended when he saw his sister glaring at him.

"Ask Rogue here," Wanda muttered.

"Hey, momma chewed me out enough already," she grumbled.

"I like cereals for breakfast, yo." Todd said. "Especially if my angel cheeks prepared it for me," suddenly, his chair tipped over and he found himself on the floor, courtesy of Wanda's hexes.

"Whoa." Kurt ported in the dining room. "Has anybody seen the kitchen?" He asked with a shake of his head. "It's like a war zone there."

"I'd rather not talk about it," Rogue muttered as she bit into her muffin.

"Seriously, we need to talk to Mystique about hiring a cook." Lance said. "I hate cooking and I hate all of your cooking, no offense, guys."

Rogue nodded. "Yeah. And if we continue to recruit more members, then cooking for a large people would become a full time job."

"Yeah, that and that Rogue's bound to kill someone." Pietro added his two cents worth.

"Well, Kurt, I guess that means you'll have a heart to heart with your mother later." Lance continued.

"Ye—what?"

"Ok, let's go." Lance interrupted before the fuzzy elf could protest as he crumpled his bag and dumped it in the bin. "Don't wanna be late for first period again. We don't want to get in the principal's bad side, right?" Lance said as he sauntered outside.

"Last one out is a rotten egg!" Pietro called as he zipped out after Lance.

"Wait up!" Todd cried out as he hopped out to the garage.

"Hey! You guys expect us to clean up after you?" Rogue angrily called out.

"Todd is riding to school with us?" Wanda asked, wrinkling her nose.

*

*

*

The freshmen students of Bayville High ducked in fear as a particularly large man made his way down the hallway.

He was large not just because of his height but also because of his mass. And yet, the people around him knew that the massive amount of flesh of his body was not just fat but muscles as well.

One unfortunate freshman who was too slow from running away was grabbed by the collar and hauled to the man's height.

"Ulp,"

"Can you tell me where the principal's office is?" Te large man, who looks old enough to be a college student asked.

Not trusting his own voice, the freshman nodded and lifted a shaky hand and pointed to the general direction of Madame Darkholme's workplace.

The man broke into a grin, scaring the freshman more than ever. "Thanks," he set the younger boy down and went off his way.

The freshman's knees gave out.

*

*

*

"H-here's your coffee, Rogue," a shy freshman tentatively handed a large cup towards the sophomore. Everyone knows that Rogue loves a hot cup of coffee to start the day.

"Thanks, sugah," she replied as she took the coffee from the freshman. She gave him a smile that almost made the freshman swoon. Satisfied, and with a goofy grin on his face, the freshman run off to his friends.

"Ugh." Jean shuddered. She hated the way Rogue used her admirers to get what she wanted.

"Hello, Red," Rogue greeted her.

"Must you do that?" Jean asked her, cursing the fates that assigned her locker right beside Brotherhood's princess.

"Do what?" Rogue asked innocently as she juggled her books and coffee in one hand and twirled her combination with the other.

"Use freshmen kids who didn't know any better to do things for you,"

Rogue shrugged. "Well, I guess it's more fun to pit guys who obviously have a crush on you against each other, sugah, but it just ain't my style."

Jean spluttered. "I am not pitting Scott and Duncan against each other." True, the two never saw eye to eye (no pun intended), and if one believes the rumors circulating around, it had everything to do with Jean Grey. But those were just rumors!

Rogue looked shocked. "Was I talking about you?"

"Rogue," Jean said in a threatening way.

Of course, Rogue, who had been subjected to Mystique's threats more than a million times, was not the tiniest bit intimidated. "Of course, now that the Cajun Casanova's here, things are gonna change, right, Red?"

"Did I hear two _belle femmes_ talking about this lowly thief?" Remy asked as he possessively draped his arms around Jean _and _Rogue.

Jean fumed. Just as he was adorable with breakfast this morning, the insufferable way Remy treats women, like they were mindless beings waiting to be swept off their feet (preferably by him), was beginning to irritate her. Just what is it he was thinking, playing both her and Rogue?

"That's a dangerous game you're playing, Cajun," Rogue told him with an unreadable smile.

"Remy can handle it, _cher_." He replied confidently.

"Good. It's been a while since someone played the level of our game, right, Red?" Rogue asked as she slammed her locker shut.

Jean grinned, glad that someone was putting man in his place. She, too, was tired of the testosterone level in the Institute. "Right." Now with a common enemy, the rivals had made an unspoken truce. "Are you sure you can handle the two of us, Remy? 'Cause Rogue and I, we aren't your typical women." She raised a challenging eyebrow. "We might be way out of your league."

Rogue turned to Remy. "Be careful playing the game, lovah. You just might get burned." With that, Rogue handed him her half-empty cup of coffee and walked away.

"I'll see you around," copying a move Rogue had done a number of times on Scott, Jean teased Remy's chin with the tip of her index finger before walking after the sophomore girl.

"_Dieu_," Remy murmured as he took a sip of Rogue's abandoned coffee to calm his nerves. Ol' Bayville High was beginning to appeal to him very much.

*

*

*

"Hmm," the large man looked at the piece of paper he was holding then to the locker he was facing. "Same number," he muttered. "This must be it."

He looked around and saw quite a number of students milling around their own lockers, waiting for the first bell to ring.

He twirled the combination of his locker, unfortunately, he underestimated his own strength, he accidentally wrench off the whole locker door.

There was a moment of shocked silence.

Finally, one brave (or stupid) soul let out a snicker. And that led to most of the students laughing.

The face of the large man slowly turned red.

"Don't laugh at me!" He exploded as he grabbed the first thing he could put his hands onto—the lockers. Without exerting much effort, he was able to wrench off the wall and pick up the heavy row of lockers. He swung it around violently. "Don't laugh at me!" 

But by now, most of the students had screamed in fear and run off.

"So," a cool, collected voice interrupted his tirade, "You must be Fred Durkes,"

Fred looked up and saw a brunette guy with his arms crossed, wearing a brown shirt and jeans with rips on the knees. Beside stood another guy with silver hair, leaning casually on the wall as if he was bored. It was obvious that he didn't scare the two one bit. 

Fred decided to play it cool. "Yeah, so?"

*

*

*

"Get away from me!" Wanda snapped as she bodily shoved Todd away from her. She then stalked to the wash room.

"She likes me," Todd sighed as he hopped over to Lance and Pietro's cafeteria table. "I love it here, yo." he declared as he deposited his small frame into the seat opposite the two guys.

"Yeah, yeah," Pietro muttered as he took a bite out of his burger.

"So, when will I meet the boss man?" Todd inquired as his tongue shot out and captured a fly.

"Do you mind?" Pietro thundered. "I'm eating here!"

"When he gets back," Lance replied, ignoring Pietro's outburst. Lance noticed that a few envious glances were being thrown towards Todd.

"I need a cool codename," Todd was saying.

Pietro snorted as Lance ignored the two of them.

The students around them were wondering what a new geek like Tolanski was doing hanging out with the two bullies of Bayville. 

Todd had been the subject of an attack from a junior tormenter earlier, but Lance had found them, saved Todd, beat up the junior, and threatened to beat up anyone who would dare to touch the new Brotherhood boarder.

It just hadn't make sense.

"Oh, hey, Rogue!" Todd greeted the newcomer eagerly.

"Hey, Todd," Rogue greeted as she squeezed in beside Lance.

"Like I was saying, I need a cool codename, yo. Maybe Dragon Man or something."

"How 'bout Tadpole?" Pietro suggested.

That was another mystery. What does the freshman geek possess that enabled him to share a table, not only with Lance and Peitro, but with Rogue as well?

*

*

*

"Like, I'm sure glad they got him," Kitty shuddered when she saw Todd capture a fly and eat it.

Scott shook his head. "Think about it, Kit," he started. "They have another mutant to brainwash, another mutant to stand between us and our dream."

Yeah, the dream of peaceful co-existence between mutants and humans. Kitty wasn't sure she believes that such was possible. But still, that was better than an all-out war, right?

Scott's tirade about the dream was interrupted when he saw Jean holding her tray, looking for a place to eat. He started to raise his hand to get her attention, but Duncan stepped in his line of vision.

The blond jock then started to lead Jean toward _his _table.

Scott's face fell. Great. He just couldn't catch a break with Jean. This morning, it was the Cajun and now, it was Duncan.

"Hey, guys," Bobby deposited his tray on their table. 

"Hey, Bobby, how's your first day?" Kitty asked.

He shrugged. "It's OK. As OK as school was gonna get. Apparently, here, if you know Jean, people would think highly of you. All I had to do was mention that Jean Grey's my housemate and everyone wants to become my friend."

"Yeah," Scott mumbled not at all paying attention for he was busy spying on the jock table.

"Hey, Freddy, over here!" The all heard the unmistakable voice of Pietro call out.

The heads in the X-Men lifted simultaneously. They saw a large man holding a tray containing a surprising amount of food made his way towards the Brotherhood table.

"They got another mutant?" Evan groaned. "We're doomed."

"No we're not." Scott said firmly. 

"Yeah, well, whatever," Kitty said. "But there's no harm in suggesting to the professor that he look for another mutant, right?"

*

*

*

"'Allo, _chere_," Remy grinned when he saw Rogue leaning casually against his locker.

"Swamp Rat?" Rogue frowned as she straightened up from her slouch. "I thought this was Scott's locker."

"_Oui_," He grinned. "The one below is his. The one on top is Remy's."

Rogue checked her watch impatiently. "Well, I guess you would have to do."

"_Petite_," he grinned. "You certainly know what to say make a man feel good about himself,"

She gave him a teasing grin. "I try my best, sugah,"

"So, what do you need Ol' One-Eye for?" He asked. "Remy's sure Remy can satisfy your needs much more,"

"Well," she said sexily. "Since you put it that way," her southern accent only got thicker. "I do need a favor,"

"Just say the word, _cher_,"

"Yeah, can you give something to Xavier? It's from Irene." Again, Rogue checked her watch, giving Remy the impression that the Southern lady was in a hurry. But he immediately lost his train of thoughts when emerald green eyes gazed into his fake brown eyes and smiled at him. She reached into her pocket and took out an envelope. "I don't know what's in it and it's supposed to be hush-hush,"

Remy took the note with a frown. "So Remy's supposed to give this to the professor?"

Rogue nodded. "Thanks, sugah," she said as she smiled at him. She started to walk away.

"Hey, _cher_!" He called out after her.

Rogue stopped and turned around. 

"You sure Remy can't do anything _else_ for you?" He asked.

"Maybe next time, sugah," Rogue laughed as she turned her back on him and walked away.

Remy leaned casually on his locker and contented himself with simply watching her backside retreat. 

Oh, yes. Remy's hands itched to reach out and taste the forbidden fruit.

*

*

*

**~tbc**

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P.S.

Thanks to the ff: **Rogue Pryde** (sorry I failed to mention your name last chapter. I uploaded the chap before I read your review. Anyway, thanks for reading this and RockStar),  **Katrina5** (Putting Rogue in the brotherhood so she can be bad's very fun to write. Hope it's just as fun to read), **Michelle** (Actually, this chap was half-done before I posted last chap. But I had to tend to my other neglected fics before this one so I was tad delayed. That, and RL interrupted. But at least it's done now), **ishandahalf** (a gold star collection? That takes me back. Hmm. So what do I do to collect 'em stars?), **Syd** (Ah, yes, to quote a reviewer, _the funnest part of Aus_! You get them to act in ways they usually don't. Yey! Seems like most people like Rogue bold and beautiful), **Lady Starlight so kiss my ass** (Wanda and Pyro…I read a good fic with them…if only I can remember the title. It'll come to me…anyway, Pyro? I'll try my best. But I only have one more spot in the X-Men team, and I really don't see him with them, although seeing Scott try to tame the pyromaniac would indeed be fun!), **Mercury Dream** (seems like you want me to jump in the Jean-bashing bandwagon? cracks knuckles evilly I can do that cackles and thank you for putting me in your favorites. I was floored. That cheered me up real good. Thanks.)


	4. Truce

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

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A/N: Thanks to those who graciously reviewed the previous chapter (**Katrina5**, _rogue4eva_, **ishandahalf**, _DBZpunkchik_, **I'm an Angry Gumball**, _Mercury Dream_, **GWFreak315**, and _AthenaAlpha_). I really appreciate it, guys. ^^ 

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Chapter 4 

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Moonlight bathed the Institute while all its young inhabitants were slumbering peacefully, unaware of the danger that is to come. 

Much later, a long black limousine arrives at gate. For a full minute, nothing happened. It was as if its riders were merely observing the beauty around them.

Then, the car door slowly opened, and a woman whose beauty rivals darkness itself stepped down. She looked at her surroundings disdainfully. Then, she walked to the backseat and opened the door. Carefully, carefully, she aided her companion as she, too, descended from the vehicle.

"Let's go my child," the older woman rasped out, as her walking stick hit the ground, so she wouldn't rely too much on her young companion.

The younger woman nodded, her white stripes illuminated by the moonlight, giving it an ethereal glow. With her dark clothes and the rest of her auburn hair, she looked like a vision, the nymph of the night itself. Standing before the gates, she held out one of her hand. And as if even inanimate objects couldn't help but fall under this beauty's commands, the gates swung open, welcoming the two newcomers with open arms.

But in truth, they were not welcomed.

As if to testify to this fact, the house was bathed in flashing red lights, waking up its inhabitants, warning them of the danger that the beauty who was enshrouded in darkness brought.

The house tried to protect itself by brining out guns and weapons. However, such were no match against the young woman. She merely extended both hands, and as if shamed, the weapons bowed down at her feet. Those that were too far away to obey her command had fired, but the attempts were futile as she surrounded herself and her companion with a magnetic energy that deflected the harmful rays away.

Suddenly, there was an inhuman snarl as a figure in black and yellow hurled itself at them.

"We've been expecting you," the older woman said serenely.

The younger girl simply used her hands to make a brushing motion, and as if by magic, the man who had thrown itself against them in an attack was suspended in midair, then suddenly, he felt himself being dragged backwards, as if by an invisible force, until his back was against the Institute wall. He grunted. "Irene," he growled.

Irene smiled at him, though she cannot see him. 

"What's going on?" A young teenager with red-tinted glasses stood at the front door, alert and on the defensive. Behind him was another male around his age, holding on to three eerily-glowing cards.

"_Chere_?" The card-holder's eyes widened in surprise. Then, almost immediately, the look was gone, replaced instead with an arrogant smirk. "_Petite_," he drawled lazily. "If you wanted to visit Gambit, you should've simply asked him. None of this is necessary."

"I'll keep that in mind next time, Swamp Rat," the young woman replied, answering his smirk with one of her own smiles.

"Rogue?" The man with the glasses choked out. "What's the meaning of this?"

Rogue smiled as she moved her hands. As she did so, the older man, Wolverine, flew sideward, until he was on the feet of his companions. 

"As much as I love to stay and chat, Scottie," Rogue said. "I'm not the kind of girl who mixes business with pleasure. So maybe next time, sugah,"

"We need to see your professor," Irene had said.

Wolverine gave another growl as he unsheathed his claws. "Not in this lifetime, bub,"

Rogue raised an eyebrow. "And ya'll gonna stop me?" She asked incredulously.

Irene placed a hand on her charge's daughter. "We came here not for a fight, Rogue,"

Rogue nodded as she relinquished her hold on the ademantium skeleton of the older man. "Sorry, suh," she told him. "Got carried away. My momma's not too fond of you,"

Wolverine snorted. "The feeling's mutual, darlin'." He replied. He was positive that Mystique had trained her daughter with Magneto's powers just to spite him. "Still, that doesn't mean you're gonna waltz in and see Chuck,"

_It's alright, Logan, I have been expecting them._

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"When was the last time you've seen the Weather Witch?" Irene asked calmly before taking a sip of her tea.

Gambit had started at that, but before he could react, someone had beaten him to it.

Wolverine growled. "If you have done anything to hurt her," he snarled as he advanced threateningly towards the precog.

Rogue immediately placed herself between Irene and the angry man. "If you would think—" she began.

"Rogue," Irene said quietly.

"Perhaps it would be best if Ms. Adler and I discuss this matter privately," the professor mused, giving Scott a look that clearly meant that he was to lead everyone out.

But everyone knew that no one leads Logan to anywhere unless he's willing to.

"If you think that I'm going to leave you alone with her for one minute, Chuck," Wolverine started.

"Logan," the professor's voice was as quiet as before, but it held a tone of authority that no one, not even the Wolverine, dare contradict. "I'll be fine,"

Rogue looked at her guardian. "Irene?"

The blind woman nodded. 

"Uh," Scott cleared his throat. "Let's go to the kitchen, Rogue. I'll fix you coffee or something,"

But Remy was quicker than the X-Leader. Already, he had offered Rogue his arm and was escorting her out of the room.

Logan was the last one out. "I'll be within hearing distance," he muttered before slamming the door shut.

"What were you saying about Miss Munroe?" Charles began as he wheeled himself from the back of his desk towards the precog.

"I saw her and Magneto, in a vision." Irene replied serenely. "They were captured by humans and placed in a facility."

"When would this happen?" Charles frowned.

"Soon." Irene could practically see the wheels turning in Charles's head. 

He was about to reach an intercom to command Wolverine to head a mission to find Storm, but Irene stopped him.

"Wait." Irene said. "There's nothing we could do. In all possible futures where we attempted to rescue them, our teams failed and were captured themselves. Some even ended up dead."

Charles's eyes widened. "So what do you suggest we do?"

"Wait. There's more." Irene's mouth was set in a grim, straight line. "But I didn't come here to warn you. I'm afraid whatever has to happen must happen. For the children's sakes."

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"Rogue, you look horrible," Pietro Maximoff laughed when he saw his teammate trudging down the halls the following morning.

Rogue made a face. She and Irene had gone home well after midnight. Then she had to wake up at four for her training. She had a grand total of three hours sleep, and it showed. "If you think I look horrible, you should see Lance."

Pietro winced. He knew about Rogue's absorption trainings. Those session were meant to increase Rogue's recovery time after she absorbs a person. And with the improvement of her powers, it was also to help her control the powers she absorbs. Pietro knew about those trainings first hand, after all, he was one of Rogue's first victims—er—test subjects.

"So, where is our great leader?" Pietro asked.

Rogue shrugged. "I think Freddy had to carry him on his back or something."

"Well, that I gotta see." Pietro laughed. "Later, Roguey!" he zipped off.

"'Allo, _cherie_," 

"Cajun," Rogue nodded as she walked past the self-proclaimed prince of thieves.

"Wait," a hand grabbed a sleeved arm. "Remy wants to ask you something,"

Rogue frowned as she turned around. There was something wrong here and she couldn't quite put her finger into it…

"_Madame_ Adler was talkin' 'bout 'Roro last night," he continued.

And suddenly, Rogue realized what was wrong. For once, Gambit was not flirting with her. He was actually serious!

"Sorry, sugah," she told him, just as solemn. "Irene didn't tell me anything, I only know as much as you do."

"Could you ask her?" He almost pleaded.

Rogue saw her reflection from Gambit's glasses. She knew that this wasn't the kind of man who asks for favors often. And when he does, he always pays his dues. "You care about her, don't you?" She asked softly.

"_Oui_." He nodded. "She's one of Remy's few friends,"

Rogue nodded. "I'll see what I can do, Swamp Rat," 

And almost immediately, the serious man in front of her once again transformed into the cocky thief. "_Merci_. And maybe Remy can make it up to you by sitting with you for lunch?"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "In your dreams, Cajun,"

*

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"Whoa." Pietro gasped. "What the hell happened here?"

"Out of my way!" Wanda snapped as she elbowed her twin brother out of the door. 

Lance and Rogue immediately ran inside, curious as to what made the Maximoff siblings stop and stare.

"We've been robbed, yo!" Todd commented.

The house was in chaos. Their furniture were ruined and in disarray, the smaller vases and decorations were broken on the floor, the windows shattered, the walls cracked. 

"Irene!" Rogue gasped as she started to run up the stairs.

"Rogue! Wait!" Lance called out as he took off after her. "There might be still someone else in here."

"Way ahead of you," Pietro said as he zipped in front of Rogue. "Let's go search the place for Irene."

*

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"Did anyone find the professor?" Cyclops asked as the X-Men reconvened in the living room fifteen minutes earlier.

There was a collective shake of heads.

They had arrived home a few minutes earlier, only to find the Institute trashed and in disarray.

"Can't find the Wolverine either," Gambit added.

Cyclops groaned. "That doesn't mean anything. He might have taken off before all these happened."

"Not without his motorcycle, he ain't." Gambit shot back.

"Guy!" Kitty ran into the room. "I found something on Cerebro."

*

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"What do you mean she didn't come in for school? She's the principal, for crying out loud!" Wanda all but screamed to the phone.

Lance collapsed on the slashed couch. There was no Irene, and they couldn't find Mystique either.

"Do you think maybe we could call the police or something?" Fred suggested.

"You think being a precog, she would've seen this coming," Pietro snorted.

"Pietro," Wanda threatened.

Pietro winced then paled.

"That's it." Rogue stood up.

Lance frowned. "What's it?" 

"It's possible Irene foresaw this and left us some instructions or something." Rogue suggested.

Wanda nodded. "So where do we start looking?"

"Her room," Lance nodded as he stood up too. Searching for something was better than sitting around and doing nothing. "Let's go."

*

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"He wants us to do what?" Jean asked incredulously as the recorded message of Professor X ended.

"He wants us to meet with the Brotherhood." Scott said flatly. "But why?"

"Like, he said so himself, Scott." Kitty snorted. "The only way we could save him, Storm, and Mr. Logan is to, like, form an alliance with them."

"No way, man!" Evan protested, obviously thinking about the horrors of working with Quicksilver.

"We have no choice." Scott's hands balled into a fist. "He said that Destiny saw it as the only possible way for us to save everyone, one with the fewest casualties."

"I don't like it." Jean muttered.

Bobby frowned. "Why? What's so bad about the Brotherhood? Aren't they mutants like us?"

Four sets of eyes stared at him.

"What? What did I say?"

*

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"Are you sure about this, Roguey?" Pietro asked as he sat down on the park bench beside Rogue.

"No." Rogue admitted. "But according to Irene, this was the only way we could save them."

Lance put down the attaché case he was holding.

Kurt ported in with Wanda.

"They're coming." He announced.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Cyke and his team of four arrived. An unspoken border line that neither teams crossed was between them.

"Where's Todd and Fred?" Jean demanded.

"At home." Lance glared at her. 

"Where's Gambit?" Rogue demanded.

"Right here,_ chere_," he smirked. "Don't want you to miss Remy too much, henh?"

Pietro smirked as Evan glared at him.

"Let's get right down to business." Cyclops interrupted.

Lance nodded. "You've got the key?"

Jean nodded as a key rose from Scott's hand to the air.

"Rogue," Lance nodded.

Rogue nodded as she called upon the TK powers she absorbed from the past. The briefcase Lance had put down rose to the air to hover beside the key.

Jean maneuvered the key so that it would fit into the keyhole. 

As the briefcase unlocked, Rogue opened it, revealing a stack of papers inside.

"What are those?" Bobby asked as he stepped forward.

"Destiny's Journals." Rogue replied. "May I?"

Scott nodded. "Jean,"

Rogue and Jean stepped forward and started going through the papers that Destiny wrote.

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**~tbc**

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P.S.

And I would really appreciate the feedback, people! Thanks for reading.


	5. Commixtion & Confusion

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

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A/N:

Sorry I took too long in updating. This chapter was pretty painful to write—I got hit by the big writer's block. I tried to write at least a paragraph a day, but there are times when I just stare at the computer screen, lost in thought. Anyway, school's back. Don't worry though. I think I write better under stress than if I'm on vacation. =)

R & R! Thanks!

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Chapter 5 

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The bell signaling the beginning of the lunch period resonated through the halls of Bayville High.

The male students of the math class of Mr. Broomworth held their breath as their eyes instinctively swiveled towards the back of the room. 

That was where the student popularly known only as Rogue sat.

They watched as she slammed her book shut and rose from her desk. Their eyes never left her as she traveled from her seat to the door. That was all they could do—watch. They knew they could never go further than that.

So they watched. They watched as she exited the room, only to be greeted by her brother. Her brother, Kurt Wagner, was leaning casually on the doorframe. When he saw his sister, he pushed himself from his casual position and stood up straighter to walk with Rogue to the cafeteria, as was their custom since their rooms right before lunch were near each other.

Kurt was one of the reasons why the boys couldn't do anything but watch Rogue.

As Rogue walked out of their view, they let out a collective sigh as they, too, began to collect their things into their bag.

Kurt and Rogue. The Darkholme siblings. A lot of rumors circulate around the two, one of which was why they have different last names.

One rumor had it that Principal Darkholme gave birth to twins, Kurt and Rogue, but they had different fathers. One talk with Mr. McCoy of the science department quickly eliminated that possibility. Another rumor was that Principal Darkholme was married to Kurt's father, but had a short but passionate affair with Rogue's father immediately after Kurt was born. When she became pregnant with Rogue, Kurt's father left her (or vice versa. It was never clear who of the two was older). But perhaps the most popular rumor (and the most logical one) was that Rogue was the daughter of the principal's friend, and when the friend died, Rogue was orphaned and quickly adopted into the Darkholme household. That would explain Rogue's sudden appearance in the beginning of sophomore year, but that doesn't explain who or where Kurt's father is, or why the last name.

But no matter. All that mattered is Kurt was very protective of his sister. And whoever wants to go out with his sister, has to go through him first.

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There were two popular groups in Bayville High, the two being at odds with each other. One was led by Jean Grey, although if you ask them, they were officially led by Scott Summers (but Summers is in the B-List, but never mind). The other, by the teenage rebel Lance Alvers.

During lunch, the two groups sat on opposite side of the cafeteria, far away from each other so that they wouldn't accidentally stray into the other's turf, but not so far as they couldn't keep an eye on their rival group. No one outside the group knew how the rivalry started. But everyone knew the tension that fills up the air once one member of the groups strays towards the other.

Which was why today was such a surprise.

The two usual seats that they occupy was empty, which wasn't surprising. It was early still, and it would be sort of uncool to show up on time.

What was surprising was that both Lance Alvers and Scott Summers were there—and they were making their way in the middle of the caf, instead of towards their respective corners.

"I don't know why we're wasting our time here," Alvers told Summers with a malicious gleam in his eyes.

Summers growled. "We need to plan for this. Walking into this thing unprepared would lead to our failure."

Anticipating a fight, the lunchroom watched in comparative silence, holding their breath. They didn't hear what the two men were saying, but their body language told them enough that one wrong move, one wrong word, and the fight of the century would erupt. But all were disappointed when all the two did was face at each other. The two didn't say anything more, just faced at each other. Moments later, the crowd lost interest and went back to their usual business.

"Yeah, yeah," Lance muttered as he began to walk away. "This afternoon then,"

"Alright." Scott nodded. "Nightcrawler's our man."

"Good. Shadowcat's in." With that, Lance walked towards his usual table.

Later, Jean Grey showed up hanging on one arm of self-proclaimed football god, Duncan Matthews. Jean and Duncan sat down on the table usually reserved for football players and cheerleaders. She saw Scott leaving from his brief meeting with Avalanche. Jean sighed. All of them wanted to skip class and start looking for the professor, but they need to keep up some semblance of normalcy to keep appearances. Destiny's journals had warned them that someone was always watching…

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"So what have you guys decided on, yo?" Todd asked as he attempted to steal something that remotely resembled a fry from Fred's tray.

Fred half-heartedly swiped at him. His gaze was focused elsewhere, namely on one Jean Grey.

"That the meeting in the Institute is still on tomorrow," Lance replied.

"So why are we stepping willingly into their turf?" Wanda demanded.

"That way, we won't worry about breaking things when push comes to shove," Lance replied with an evil smirk.

"Who's going again?" Wanda asked.

The deal was that three of the Brotherhood was to meet with three of the X-Men, two to be chosen by the teams while the third one was to be chosen by the other team. 

Lance and Rogue raised their hands like good little children. 

"And they chose Kurt to go," Lance added.

"Good," Kurt rubbed his hands in anticipation. "That way I could keep that dirty Cajun from hitting on my sister!"

"Pietro and Fred would come until outside the mansion, to make sure that nothing bad happens,"

Wanda shrieked. "You are not leaving me alone with him!" She motioned to Todd.

"But, sugarpie!" Todd protested but immediately quieted down when Wanda glared at him.

"Pietro can't go in there," Rogue added. "Daniel is in there."

"It'll be Wanda and Fred then." Lance sighed. "Can you handle that, Blob?"

Fred nodded with a sinister smile. "I like to see them try something," he said, but deep inside, his thoughts were on a certain redhead.

*

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"So why are we willingly letting them into our turf?" Evan asked.

"That way, we could be sure we aren't walking into a trap," Scott replied. "I don't trust them."

Jean nodded. "But according to the professor's message, he did a mind-scan on a willing Destiny. What she saw was the real thing and the only way we could save them was if we cooperate with the Brotherhood,"

"They need us too," Kitty nodded. "I don't think they'd betray us or something,"

"Speaking of which, Kitty, Alvers chose you to go," Scott sighed in defeat. He was hoping the Brotherhood would choose Jean or even Gambit. He didn't want his younger members any exposure to their enemies if he can help it. 

Kitty grinned, glad to get a piece of the action for once.

"So, who'll go with you, Fearless?" Remy asked as he idly shuffled the cards in his hands.

Scott was about to reply that he chose Gambit when Jean spoke up.

"I'm the second in command. I should go,"

Scott hid a wince. He also didn't want Jean to be in there. But he agreed in defeat, rather than engage in a long and painful debate as to whether or not Jean should go.

*

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"So they destroyed everything?" Rogue frowned as she pored over the maps Destiny drew and compared it with the topographical maps Magneto had lying around in their boarding house.

Scott nodded. "Everything. All the vehicles, all the equipments, even Cerebro was not spared."

"Don't sound so surprised, Rogue," Lance told her. "After all, they did the same thing to our place."

"So we're stuck here with no modes of transportation," Jean rubbed her aching head.

The location Destiny drew in her maps was a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It was supposedly uninhabited, therefore, no commercial flights were available to go there at all. The only way to go there was through a helicopter or a boat. The former was preferable because the latter would take days—days they feel they didn't have.

"We still have the Mags-mobile," Rogue answered distractedly, meaning the metal spheres that Magneto used to transport his companions using his magnetic energy. "We could take a commercial plane to here," she motioned on a small country on the map that was nearest the island. "And take the orbs the rest of the way."

Kurt frowned. "But Rogue,"

"Who would power those orbs?" Scott asked, interrupting Kurt's protest.

"I would," Rogue replied as she thought it over. "But I think I could only take four orbs with me, judging from the distance."

Kitty looked over Rogue's shoulders and tapped on her laptop. "Sorry guys, no commercial flights towards that island either. But there is one right there," she motioned towards the map after comparing it to the picture in the monitor of her laptop.

"That's too far away for me to take four people on one go," Rogue frowned. "Either I take less people or we do it in two days,"

"The rest could commandeer a boat and arrive there two or three days after we do," Lance nodded.

"I'm not sure I agree with the sphere idea," Scott began.

"Fine then," Lance snapped. "The Brotherhood would hitch a ride with Rogue, and we'll see you when it's over,"

Scott didn't like that either. The Brotherhood might do something to the Professor, Storm, and Wolverine if they succeed in the mission without the X-Men being there.

"We have to work together, remember?" Kitty placated Lance. 

"If the X-Men went with your idea, then we'll be putting ourselves at your mercy," Scott grounded out, not liking the thought that Rogue could drop them at anytime she please if he agreed that his team would ride in the metal orbs.

"Sugar, I ain't no murderer," Rogue assured him. "I promise that I won't drop any of you, not if I can help it,"

Scott reddened. "I wasn't implying—"

Rogue gave him a weak grin. "It's alright."

Jean seethed at the look that passed between Rogue and Scott. "Might I suggest a compromise, then?"

"What is it?" Kurt asked.

"Rogue can hold four orbs," Jean began. "What if three of those four are X-Men. That way, she have more incentive of keeping the orbs afloat, because without the three, they won't have a chance of defeating whoever it is that's holding our leaders hostages."

Lance frowned. 

"Alright," Rogue immediately answered.

"Rogue," Lance began. 

"Don't worry, Lance," Rogue grinned at him. "They're the good guys. They wouldn't dream of betraying us. It'll go against everything they believe in,"

Lance snorted as Kurt gave a goofy grin.

"So, who's going to be in the orbs?" Lance asked.

Scott thought about it. "Me and Jean," he said immediately. He knew that if Rogue does betray them and decide to drop the orbs, he knew Jean could take over by using her telekinesis. And he was going because he wouldn't let Jean alone with the Brotherhood.

"So that means Lance would lead the other group," Kurt mused.

"What?" Lance glared at Scott. They had decided to share the leadership between Lance and Scott. And since there were two groups, one would lead the first group and the other the second group. 

"Who's your third member?" Rogue interjected before Lance could say a word.

"Me!" Kitty volunteered. 

"No." Scott said. "You're with Lance," as much as he hated to say it, Scott knew that Kitty would keep Lance in line.

Lance's frown faded a bit.

Kitty shrugged.

Scott thought about it. That left Spyke and Gambit. 

"Remy'll come," Jean offered.

"What?" Scott frowned.

"Good choice. That means Pietro's with me." Rogue grinned. She actually wanted to take Pietro with her, if only to take him away from Wanda's company. She'll surely kill him if she gets stuck with him for more than a day.

"Why Quicksilver?" Kurt asked with a frown. He wanted to go with his sister, if only to protect her. 

"Spyke's in my team," Lance said. "Him and Quicksilver can't stand each other."

Realization dawned on Scott. He knew that Jean would rather have the gentle, sweet-natured Kurt Wagner with Team 2 than the volatile and hostile Pietro.

"Alright. So the combined teams of the X-Men and the Brotherhood would take a flight to this island," Scott began as she motioned to Kitty's laptop, tracing their would-be path with a laser pointer. "Then, we'll split into two groups. Team Blue—"

"Blue?" Kurt asked with a frown.

"It's just a working name," Scott said defensively as he gestured weakly to the blinking blue lights on the monitor.

"_Ja_. You need to work on your name," he grinned.

"Team Blue," Scott glared at the Fuzzy One. "Would take off from here in Magneto's orbs,"

"Then, Team Gold," Lance immediately interrupted.

"But the lights are pink," Kitty pointed out.

"I would not lead a team named Pink," he told her seriously.

"Like, what's wrong with pink?" Kitty demanded hotly.

"What's not wrong with pink?" Rogue muttered.

"Hey!" Kitty protested.

"Can we go back to the plan now?" Scott asked in exasperation.

"Alright," Lance nodded, glad to be off the topic of conversation.

"Team Gold," Scott began which earned a nod from Lance. "Would ride a boat from the island to our target."

"And then what?" Jean asked.

Scott shrugged. Destiny's journals had gotten hazy and confusing after that. "We would just have to improvise."

"Hey," Rogue called out. "How are we going to afford airplane tickets for the trip? And where on earth would we get a boat?"

*

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"Tell me why are we doing these again?" Evan asked as he watched in morbid fascination as Kitty worked the computer screen before her. 

Kitty shrugged. "Like, the professor will just pay them back when he returns," she shrugged. After Remy had returned to tell them earlier that the professor's bank account had been wiped clean, Scott made the difficult decision of letting Kitty hack into the Airline Computer system to get them their tickets.

"No offense, but this sounds like something the Brotherhood would do, not the X-Men," Evan frowned as he straddled the chair beside Kitty. "But it's cool, though," he smirked.

Kitty paused to glare at him. "Scott gave me this huge lecture about emergencies and doing the right thing earlier," she rolled her eyes. "Believe me when I say that right now, Fearless is beating himself over the head for letting me do this. He feels like he's corrupting me or something, but then, he has no other choice."

"And where's Gambit?"

"Out," Kitty replied as she turned back to the computer screen. "Scott's pretending that Remy's trying to legally acquire a large boat or something without so much as a penny on him."

"Ouch,"

"And Remy enjoyed it sooo much when Scott asked him to get a boat."

"Why are we doing all the dirty-work?"

"Like, because Rogue's going to take care of the transportation of Team Blue. Plus I think Jean wanted to make sure that we take no more than we actually need."

*

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"Remember, Maximoff, at the first sign that the X-men are going to betray us, I want you to take Rogue out of there, understood?"

Quicksilver smirked and nodded. "Gotcha, boss." 

"Will you relax?" Rogue rolled her eyes at the very tense Lance Alvers.

Lance took a deep breath. This was his first full mission as team leader without Mystique in the background. He wanted to prove himself. He wanted to save their leaders. He wanted to prove once and for all that the Brotherhood is better than the X-Men. But above all else, he wanted his team to be safe. An orphan whom Mystique had taken in almost a year ago, he had found his home with the Brotherhood. And he would fight to the death to make sure that no one would take his new (although dysfunctional) family away from him.

Kurt, who was inside the Jeep, honked. "Get in, it's almost time!" He called out.

Lance looked back to Todd and Fred, who were being left behind. Being the newest recruits, they had the least amount of training. Lance was afraid that those two would be more of a liability in their mission. So he ordered them to stay behind and keep an eye on their house. "Make sure no one gets inside the house, understood?"

"Alright, you," Todd hopped up and down. "Just bring us back some souvenirs,"

"And exotic food," Fred patted his stomach.

Lance grinned. "See ya later."

"Later, you slowpokes!" Peitro cried out in delight as he took off to a running start towards their rendezvous point with the X-Men.

"Herr Alvers!" Kurt laughed. "I think Quicksilver had just challenged you to a race!"

Wanda snorted and muttered something about show-offs.

"Later, guys!" Rogue waved as she climbed in the Jeep beside Wanda.

Todd and Fred waved as the Jeep pulled out of their house. Both had wanted to come. The two of them were new to the Brotherhood, but they both felt as if finally they have found their home. And it saddened them that just as they were beginning to find their niche, everything good were being threatened to be taken away from them.

They hoped that the Brotherhood would succeed. With all their hearts. Because if not, it would only prove what they have suspected from the start. That they were never meant to belong, to fit in. They were never meant to be happy.

And if the Brotherhood fails, their young hearts would break and shatter for the thousandth time.

Both knew that they wouldn't survive that. 

But all they do for now was to hope and pray. 

*

*

*

~**tbc**


	6. With a Single Step

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

*

Thanks to those who reviewed the previous chap! I appreciate it. =) but since I've got school tomorrow, I can't answer them all. But rest assured that I read and treasure them all. 

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Chapter 6 

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Veronica Thibault shifted restless in her airplane seat. Sure, seats in the first class were comfortable and spacey, but flying commercial just weren't her thing.

"What's the matter, _chere_?" Her husband, Jacques, queried softly as he wrapped a possessive arm around her shoulders.

"Ever heard of personal space, sugah?" Came the dry reply.

The stewardess watched in amusement as the young couple, who was obviously having a lover's tiff, interacted with each other. The handsome man was obviously sorry for whatever it was that angered his young wife, as he was doing everything he can to charm his way into forgiveness. But the pretty wife was obviously not in a forgiving mood. She hadn't so much as said a word to her husband since the two of them stepped into the plane.

"Can I get you anything?" The stewardess queried softly. And her breath got stuck in her throat when the husband turned to look at her with an amused look on his face. 

"That's alright, _petite,_" he told her lazily as he once again attempted to bring his wife into the circle of his arms. "Me and my wife be fine,"

The stewardess blushed and nodded, and began to walk away from the couple. But she couldn't help but steal glances at the man as she moved away. She wondered how the woman could resist someone as beautiful as he obviously was.

"Le Beau, for the love of—"

"Shh," Remy grinned. "The name's Jacques,"

"Whatever your name is!" Rogue snapped as she glared at him. The first ten minutes of his constant flirting with her was amusing. But an hour into the flight, he's now making Rogue nervous with his insistence on physical contact. Right now, the last thing she needed in her tired mind was perverted Cajun thoughts. "Keep your hands to yourself!" 

*

*

*

"I'm going to kill that Cajun," Scott muttered for the thousandth time since the plane began its ascent. 

"Take a number, Shades," Pietro grumbled as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The space was too narrow for him to stretch his legs, the service was poor, and the worst thing was, Holier-Than-Thou-Summers was sitting right next to him. "I don't travel economy," he continued in such a fast pace that Scott almost didn't understand him. "Wait 'til my father finds out about this."

"Alvers!" Scott snapped as he turned in his seat when Lance kicked the back of his chair for the tenth time. 

"Sorry," Lance shrugged as he rolled his eyes. "Too cramped." He shrugged.

"I can't see why Daniels get to go to business class with Kitty, Jean, and the Scarlet Witch." Bobby complained from his seat beside Lance. "And Remy gets to go first class with Rogue!"

"Well, he did buy the tickets," Lance shrugged uncaringly. Before the Brotherhood, he was used to things like this so it didn't really bother him that much. Actually, he was taking advantage of the opportunity to drive Summers to the brink with little things like kicking the back of his chair and complaining loudly with the rest of the guys (thus humiliating Summers). Economy was not really very comfortable but if it meant he could torture Summers, then he'll take it over first class at any day. "And Pietro, would you rather be riding with your sister?"

Pietro paled at that, but that didn't stop him from his personal tirade against Gambit. "He better not be doing anything to Roguey," Pietro muttered. 

"Rogue can take care of herself," Lance declared confidently. "I'd like to see him actually try something,"

*

*

*

"Oh, don't you make a cute couple,"

"_Merci, mademoiselle_," Remy bowed grandly.

The elderly woman giggled before walking away, sneaking glances at the charming Cajun.

Rogue rolled her eyes and fought the urge to run far, far away. She tapped her foot impatiently. "What's taking them so long?" She grumbled as she looked around the almost-deserted airport. When they had changed planes (to a much smaller one) about five countries back, she noticed that the plane was almost empty. In fact, the only people in first class were her and Remy (much to her chagrin and the latter's delight).

"Patience, _ma_ sweet." Remy told her with a grin, attempting to once again place his arms around her.

Rogue growled and muttered something uncomplimentary under her breath.

Remy laughed at that. "You know you look real pretty when you're all mad like that,"

Rogue couldn't help but smirk. It seems that nothing short of the end of the world would unruffled the young Cajun thief. "You never miss an opportunity, don't ya?"

Remy placed an arm around Rogue. "It's part of being a thief, _cher._ You take advantage of every chance you get."

"How nice," Rogue snorted.

"Rogue."

The cool, bored voice brought Rogue back from her musings. She whirled around and almost fainted with relief when she saw the familiar figure of Wanda walking towards them.

"Thank God," Rogue muttered as she shouldered her duffel bag.

"Let me," Remy offered as he tried to rid Rogue of her load. But at Rogue's malicious glare, he backed off. "Or _mebbe_ not," he shrugged as he followed Rogue towards Wanda.

Behind Wanda were Jean, Kitty, and Evan, the last of whom was struggling with the amount of luggage he was carrying. The two X-Women were suspiciously free of any bags.

"What took you?" Rogue demanded when she and Wanda were face-to-face.

Wanda motioned behind her. "Got a little luggage problem," she rolled her eyes at the X-People behind her.

"Yeah," Kitty chirped. "Like, Evan was so sweet to offer to carry our bags,"

"Believe me, man," Evan whispered to Remy. "I didn't offer,"

A gust of wind suddenly manifested in their midst. 

"About time," Rogue muttered.

"Hey, Roguey, missed me?" Pietro asked with a smirk.

*

*

*

Scott opened the door leading to the scrap yard. The night had already fallen and they decided it was high-time that they set their plans in motion. But first, Rogue needed to get her hands on some things.

"Thank ya," Rogue grinned at him as she stepped into the junk yard. For the thousandth time, she thanked her lucky stars that Gambit didn't get to accompany her to the place, but not due to his lack of trying. Spending the whole day in an airplane with him was enough to drive her up the wall.

Scott looked around, alert.

Rogue stretched out her arms outwards and slowly, her feet lifted from the ground. With her, large scraps of metal began to separate themselves from the mountains of junk. Soon, Rogue was in the sky along with five metal orbs.

One of the orbs descended in front of Scott. It opened slowly.

"Your carriage awaits," Rogue called out to him.

Scott gulped. It's now or never. It's time to put his trust in a member of the Brotherhood. He entered the orb. And as the orb closed, he reminded himself that he was doing this for the Professor.

*

*

*

"Alright, if anyone of you is claustrophobic, speak now while it's not yet too late to go after the boat," Rogue said as she looked at the boat that carried most her teammates. It had just departed.

"Well, _mebbe_ if the _femme_ would keep Remy company," Remy started as he began to reach for Rogue.

"Gambit, don't make the idea of dropping your orb into the middle of the Pacific Ocean more desirable than it already is," Rogue told him.

"_Merde_." Remy grinned unrepentantly. "That hurts, _chere._"

"Alright. Enough." Scott said. "Let's do this,"

Rogue nodded as one by one, the orbs opened.

Scott was the first to enter into one.

Jean watched as her leader was cocooned into the orb. She bit back a sigh. She realized that there was no way out the orb if Rogue decided to double-cross them. Putting Kitty on the other team was a gamble. But it was a gamble she was willing to take. She stepped in the orb.

Remy did the same.

"Alright, Roguey, time to throw them into the sea." Pietro told her as he zipped by.

_Hey!_ Scott telepathically projected. During the course of the trip, the five of them agreed that Jean would link them telepathically for communication.

"Alright, Pietro," Rogue spoke as if she was talking to a small child.

Pietro frowned. He hated traveling through the orb. It was confining, and a speed demon like him needed a lot of space to run free. He was not meant to stay cooped up in small spaces for too long.

"It's just for a couple of hours," Rogue told him softly.

"I'll be fine, Roguey," Pietro nodded determinedly as he finally stepped into an orb.

Rogue grinned. She took out a map from her back pocket and looked at it for the final time. "Let's get this show on the road," she muttered as she stepped into her own orb and slipped the map back into her pocket. 

Then, five metal spheres rose into the sky. 

*

*

*

Lance checked his watch for the tenth time in the last two minutes. By now, Blue Team would've finished the first leg of their trip. While they're still drifting in the middle of nowhere. He mentally willed for their boat to go faster.

"Lance?" Kitty wandered into the deck where Lance was. She looked around. She could see nothing in the distance except darkness. And water. It was depressing. She just hoped that things will look better in the morning.

Lance turned to look at her. "Kitty? Why are you still up?" He frowned. 

"Can't sleep," she admitted. "How about you?"

Lance shrugged. "Just thinking,"

Kitty walked up to Lance and placed her hand on the railing in front of her. She looked out, trying to look for a piece of land, a fish in the water, something, anything aside for the vast expanse of ocean. "The Brotherhood means a lot to you, huh?"

"Yeah,"

Kitty sighed. "I wish they'd be OK."

"They would be," Lance told her confidently. "Have faith in your teammates,"

Kitty nodded. "You're right."

Lance gave her a smile. "Of course I am." He said arrogantly. 

Kitty smiled back and in that moment, Lance felt the peace that had been evading him since they found out about Irene's disappearance. It was then that he knew that everything was going to be fine. For he would do everything in his power to make her smile like that at him again.

*

*

*

Pietro's and Remy's spheres made it safely to the ground when it opened. Scott and Jean weren't so lucky.

Rogue, realizing that her energy was all but spent a few miles from their destination, gritted her teeth and brought the team as far as she can. They had reached land before she gave in to her exhaustion. Fortunately, she had the presence of mind to open all five spheres before losing consciousness.

Jean quickly used her TK to lower herself, Scott, and their orbs safely to the ground.

"Roguey!" Pietro shouted out in worry as he calculated where Rogue would fall down and quickly zipped there to break Rogue's fall.

However, at the last second, Remy had shoved him off. Rogue fell into the waiting arms of the Cajun.

"Allo, _ma_ sleeping _belle_," Remy grinned.

"Why you," Pietro glared malevolently at Gambit, but unwilling to do anything while Rogue was in the other man's arms.

"We made it," Jean sighed in relief.

"Yes, but just barely." Scott's mouth was set in a grim line. They were only half-way to their destination. Sure, they made it to the place where they agreed to spend the night, but he doubts was beginning to set in his mind. Would Rogue have the energy to take them all the way tomorrow?

"She'll pull through," Jean quietly told him, aware of the plague eating at him. "She's got as much riding on this as we do. And Rogue, she never strikes me as a quitter."

*

*

*

"How are you feeling?"

Rogue groaned as she struggled to sit up. "Like a truck just hit me," she replied. "Where are we?"

"In the middle of nowhere, _cher_." 

Rogue sighed as she opened her eyes. It was dark save for a small fire burning before her. Then, everything came crashing back. She sat up. "How long had I been out?"

"A couple of hours," came the reply. "It's about three in the morning. Save your strength, _petite_. You'll need it for the trip tomorrow."

"How about you?" Rogue asked, now fully awake. She couldn't see the Cajun's face, just his silhouette, but she can see the red of his eyes burning.

"It be Remy's turn to keep watch," he replied as he gestured to the three sleeping figures next to them.

"Oh." Rogue drew up her knees and hugged her legs. "You might as well get some sleep," she told him. "I'll take my turn,"

Remy smiled at her, though he knew she couldn't see him. But he could most definitely see her. "You need your sleep more than Remy does,"

Rogue made a face. "I know. But I always find it hard to fall back to sleep after waking up."

"Alright. If the _femme_ doesn't want to sleep, then maybe she can keep Remy company,"

*

*

*

Scott slowly woke up to the sound of sweet sound of birds chirping, of water happily flowing, and people quietly laughing.

"I can't believe you did that!" An indignant voice with drawled with a distinctive Southern accent. "That's disgusting, Cajun!"

"Remy knows that." Came the laughing reply. "But you try telling that to his cousin."

"Men are pigs!"

Scott slowly reached for his glasses and put it on before sitting up.

"Morning, Scott," came a cheerful drawl.

"Morning, Rogue," Scott greeted her as he looked around. The place was less depressing in the morning that it was last night. "Had a good sleep?"

"Yep." Rogue replied almost cheerfully.

A moan from one of the lumps nearby informed Scott that Jean was slowly waking.

"Made us breakfast," Remy offered as he indicated to the fish skewered by a thick piece of twig cooking on the fire.

"Got hungry earlier," Rogue explained. "So Remy caught fish from the stream nearby."

"So, you know call Gambit Remy, _henh_?" Remy smirked. "Maybe Remy can now call you Roguey."

"Nobody calls Roguey Roguey but me!" A quick voice protested. A quick swish of the wind made one stick of fish to disappear and the fire to die down.

"Good morning," a sweet voice called out.

"Morning, Jean," Scott grinned as Jean popped out of her sleeping bag.

"Something smells good," Jean said as she took in a breath of the aroma. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she didn't have anything to eat last night.

"You're in luck, _mademoiselle_." Remy told her with a dramatic flair. "Remy's taking care of the _femmes_ this breakfast,"

And that made the alpha male in Scott and Pietro bristle. If Gambit was taking care of both ladies, then where does that leave the two of them?

"I'll get us something to drink!" Peitro immediately offered as he zipped off.

"And I'll look for a fruit or something," Scott mumbled as he began to wander off.

Remy grinned. "Ah. Remy and two _belle femmes_. Just the way he likes it."

*

*

*

_Scott! Something's wrong!_ Scott, who had been dozing lightly, bolted upright. Unfortunately, he was currently traveling via the silver orbs which severely limited his movements. His head hit the metal wall. "Jean?" He asked aloud, as he touched his injured head. Then he realized his mistake. He projected telepathically.

It's Rogue, some— 

"What the—" Scott frowned as he felt his telepathic communication with Jean suddenly cut off. _Jean! Jean! What happened?_ Before he could do anything else, the orbs opened—in mid-flight.

"Everyone, get out of the orbs!" A voice distinctively Rogue's shouted.

"Rogue?" A dazed Pietro called out. Apparently, Scott's wasn't the only sphere that opened.

"Now!"

"Do what she says!" Scott heard Jean say.

At that, four mutants jumped from their spheres into the sea below.

Scott resurfaced first. "Jean?" He looked around, knowing that swimming isn't one of Jean's beast attributes.

A cough and a splatter. "She's right here, _homme_." Gambit said as helped Jean stay afloat.

"What on earth happened?" An angry Pietro demanded. 

"Swim to shore!" Jean shouted indicating to the nearby island.

"Alright," Scott said as he took the lead.

They almost made it to the shore when they heard the metal orbs splashed down the sea.

Scott looked back. She saw Rogue descending to the sea with the last orb at a pretty fast rate. Then, as if in slow motion, he saw the orb hit Rogue's head, rendering her unconscious.

"Roguey!" Pietro screamed.

But it was the Cajun who reacted first. Making sure that Jean can now reach the shore on her own, he started swimming back to the orbs.

Pietro growled as he ran towards the sea, using his speed to walk on water.

"Maximoff, what are you doing?" Scott screamed as he saw Pietro sink in the water because he wasn't running fast enough.

"I'm trying my best here," Pietro grounded out in frustration.

"It's not his fault, Scott." Jean said quietly. "There's something wrong with us. Rogue lost her powers, that's why she had to let us out. I lost mine, too, I can't hear your thoughts anymore. Pietro lost his. And I'm willing to bet that you and Remy did too."

*

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**~tbc**


	7. Getting Nowhere Fast

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

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A/N: I'm not even going to come up with an excuse. It's just that, my Word Processor and I had irreconcilable differences so I had to ask my friend (who is much more computer literate than I am) to tinker with my computer and work things out. And then I ran out of Internet mileage so I had to wait for a while to get things done. Sorry guys. =) Well. It's not an excuse. It's the truth. Right? Right? Right. =)

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And because you asked for it…

insert a voice-over Previously on Khay's twisted universe of XME…Because of Destiny's prophesies, the X-Men and the Brotherhood teamed up to save their adult teammates who were abducted by a yet unidentified party. The mixed teams divided into Team Blue, led by Scott Summers, and Team Gold (aka Team Pink), led by Lance Alvers. The initial party, Team Blue unexpectedly encountered their first snag—the lost of their powers! While Gambit searches for an unconscious Rogue in the bowels of the sea, Team Gold sails the ocean, unaware of the predicament of the other team, hoping that they would make it on time. 

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Chapter 7 

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"Rogue!" Remy screamed as he took in a lung full of air before diving deep into the water. Salt water stung his sensitive eyes yet he kept them open for any sign of the woman he was looking for. He held his breath for as long as he could, only surfacing when the pain in his lungs became unbearable. 

Frantically, red on black eyes searched the deceptively peaceful surface of the sea. Once again, he dove deep.

*

*

*

"Can you see them?" Pietro demanded as he paced anxiously on the beach.

Scott, who still had his visor on, but this time to shield his eyes from the sun, shook his head. 

"Damn powers," Pietro muttered. He wanted to get in the water to save Rogue. He wanted to be her hero. Unfortunately, due to his super speed that enabled him to wall on water, it never occurred to him to learn how to swim properly. At best, he could doggy-paddle to save himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to get to safety an unconscious Rogue. 

"Maybe I should give Gambit a hand," Scott frowned as he scanned the sea for the nth time and still saw no sign of either the Southerners. 

"Scott," Jean said gently. "We have no idea where they are. They could be anywhere,"

"And they could be in trouble," Scott argued. "They could need my help. Rogue's unconscious. Gambit may need help in trying to find her,"

*

*

*

Once again, the necessity of breathing compelled Remy leBeau to rise to the surface. Taking in deep, desperate amounts of air in his lungs, he scanned his surroundings. He had traveled quite a bit in his desperate search for Rogue, he couldn't see the island anymore. Already, he was beginning to feel the beginnings of exhaustion. But he wasn't going to give up. Not yet.

And then, a few feet away from him, he could see a disturbance in the water. His heart swelled with hope.

A transparent sphere rose up from the sea. And in it was Rogue!

"Cajun?" 

"Roguey!" Remy sighed in relief. "You be alright."

  
She frowned. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Ol' One-Eye saw the orb hit your head," Remy explained as he paddled in the water.

"And you're trying to save me?" She asked in amusement. "Sugar, I don't need to be saved,"

"Remy can see that," he replied easily. "Now, how about _ma chere_ givin' Remy a ride back?"

*

*

*

"I see something!" 

Pietro, who was lying on his back on the sand, sat up. "What? What?" He searched the waters, but he didn't see anything.

"Up there," Jean said as she pointed to the skies.

Rogue was flying with Remy in her arms!

*

*

*

Remy wrapped his arms around Rogue and snuggled closer to her chest.

"Cajun, don't tempt me to dropping you,"

"Can't help it, _chere_," he said. "Gambit's temptation personified."

Rogue snorted.

"What's wrong?" Remy asked when Rogue suddenly stopped moving forward. He didn't push her too far, did he?

"I can see the island," Rogue told him. "And the last time I went near it, I felt my powers seeping out of me. That's why I had half a mind to open the orbs."

"Well, we can't stay here forever, _cher_," Remy said. "Although, the idea has certain benefits," his voice dripped with innuendo as his hand traveled from Rogue's shoulder, to her arm, to her back, and down to her butt.

"Oh, you asked for it, Swamp Rat," was Rogue's only warning.

Remy felt himself hitting the surface of the sea before he realized what Rogue had done. _That River Rat_. Coughing and spluttering, Remy broke the surface. "That was low, _chere_,"

Rogue grinned at him. 

"Well, _cher_, don't just hover there," Remy grinned at her.

"Well, here it goes," she flew forward. She had not gone five feet when once again, she felt her powers drain. It was like absorbing someone, only backwards. Instead of all the memories and powers moving into her, she felt it all moving out. And then, she started falling.

*

*

*

"Did he just drop Gambit into the ocean?" Pietro asked in disbelief.

"I believe she did." Scott replied.

"I wonder what he did to make her do that." Jean frowned.

Pietro snorted. Typical female response. Sure, blame the guy. 

*

*

*

"Don't even say it," Rogue snapped at Remy between coughs after she surfaced and she swam beside the Cajun.

"Don't even say what?" Remy asked innocently.

"Whatever cute pun or pick-up line you've got running in that perverted head of yours, sugah,"

"Remy wasn't going to say anything,"

"Right. Now shut up and swim,"

*

*

*

"Roguey!" Pietro helped his teammate out of the water in relief. "You made it!"

"Was there ever any doubt?" She grinned at him as she squeezed salt water out of her hair.

"Good job, Gambit," Scott told him seriously.

"Yeah," Rogue said dryly. "My hero."

"It'll all be Remy's pleasure, _cher_."

*

*

*

The man known as Wolverine wanted to pace around the cell that was holding him. He wanted to retract his claws and start slashing through the metal bars that separated him from the outside. He wanted to snarl and growl his way to freedom.

He did all those, a few days ago. But all his efforts were in vain.

And now, now he cannot even do any of those things.

All he could do now, was sit in the corner, tired and defeated.

You see, the Wolverine had been around for decades and decades, for centuries, in fact. But for the first time since his mutant powers manifested, he was showing his real age.

Without his mutant powers, there was nothing that kept the Wolverine from aging, from showing his true age.

Without his mutant powers, time was doing what no creature, man or human alike, had done before.

The Wolverine was dying. He was dying of old age.

From the outside, a redheaded guard pitied the old man.

*

*

*

Jean ran her hand through her red hair once more. Though she was thankful for the warm temperature of the tropics that immediately dried off her wet clothes, her hair was another matter. Though it was no longer wet, it had clumped together in locks of sticky red chunks as a result of the heat and the salt. It no longer resembled the hair that half of the women of Bayville High envied and imitated.

The only thing that kept her from screaming out in frustration and disgust was the fact that the hair that the other half of the women of Bayville High envied was faring no better than hers. Rogue's shorter hair had not escape the same fate that had befallen Jean Grey's. 

"So," Rogue finally broke through the quiet. "The plan is for us all to just walk around, hoping that we somehow stumble into our unknown enemy's base?"

Scott, whose patience was worn thin by the way their well-laid plans had begun to take a nosedive since they entered the island, was still team leader. "If anyone has a better idea, then I'm all ears."

"If you're mad that things didn't work out according to plan, Cyke, don't take it out on Rogue," Pietro snapped at him.

"Well, the plan was for Rogue to take us within a mile of the  enemy base. We know how to get to the place from above, not from the ground!" Jean defended Scott hotly.

"Hey!" Rogue protested. "All of us had no idea that this place cancels all of our powers out!"

"_Mes amis_,"

Pietro smirked. "Well, if Cyke was a good team leader, he would've planned for all contingencies,"

"Alvers was co-leader!" Scott all but screamed. "He should've thought about this too!"

"Well, I think he's a better leader than you ever will be." Pietro declared.

"_Mes amis_."

"That was uncalled for!" Jean admonished Pietro. 

Rogue snorted. "Right."

"_Mes amis!_"

"WHAT?" Four angry eyes trained themselves on the Cajun.

"Move it!" Remy shouted as suddenly lunged forward and pushed Rogue out of the way.

Jean screamed as moments later, a laser beam shot out, scorching the ground Rogue was previously standing on. The teens looked up and saw a red robot, about ten feet tall, looming dangerously near their location.

"I guess it's time for the contingency plan," Pietro managed to quip.

"RUN!" Scott commanded his brigade just before another laser beam shot out.

*

*

*

The redheaded guard pushed the almost empty food cart in front of him. His job was to give the prisoners their daily dose of food (if it can actually be called that).

He only had one more stop to go. To the cell of the one called Destiny, the blind woman who supposedly can see the future.

But with the dampening field on, the guard doubted that she could see anything now. And if she can really, _really_, see the future, then why on earth was she in the cell? She should've done something to keep that from happening.

Moving swiftly, the guard took the packet of food that wasn't even enough to feed a hungry bird and slid it through the slot in the bottom part of the bars.

"The stage is set." The woman spoke for the first time since she was taken back to her cell after her _session_ with the good doctors of their organization. "You must not interfere."

The guard scratched his head. He was about to say something when he remembered that she cannot see the future anymore. Without her mutant powers, she is just an ordinary woman.

With a shrug, the guard wheeled the food cart away.

*

*

*

"Come on, Roguey!" Remy said as he easily kept pace alongside Rogue. The five of them had become separated after the attack of the giant tin man. Remy felt as if he was a character in one of those animes Bobby loved to watch.

Rogue threw him a glare. But she did run faster, unwilling to admit that the X-Men were better trained than the Brotherhood. "What on earth were those?" 

Remy threw her a grin, despite the circumstances. Maybe it was destiny that kept the two of them together. "Your guess is as good as Remy's, _petite_,"

Rogue rolled her eyes but refrained from answering, focusing instead all her attention in pushing her body to maintain her speed.

"Roguey," Remy nudged her to get her attention moments later. "Look over there,"

"A cave?"

"A good place to hide as any," Remy told her with a grin. "Come on!"

*

*

*

Kurt resisted the urge to port all over the vessel—he already did that once and it only served to irritate Evan Daniels.

So he fidgeted. He hated the fact that everywhere his eyes landed, all he could see was water. He hated the fact that he had no way of communicating with Team Blue. But most of all, he hated the fact that he was away from his sister.

Almost their entire childhoods were spent apart. Aside from an occasional visit here and there, Rogue (who was in Caldecott, Mississippi) and Kurt (who was in Germany) were raised separately. This was done to keep them from the watchful eyes of Charles Xavier and other prying eyes. Kurt grew up longing for the sister that was deprived of his company.

So when Kurt was brought into Bayville and was finally told that Rogue would be with him, he was ecstatic. Though he missed the foster parents his real mother found for him in Germany, having Rogue near more than made up for it.

And he was much more overjoyed to learn that their mother would train the two of them as a team. A team of two, he had called them. Although Mystique was relentless in training her children, Kurt was glad that he had Rogue to share the hardships in.

And now, not knowing what his sister was doing, not knowing what was happening to Rogue, it was killing him. 

With a long-suffering sigh, he ported.

"Wagner!" Evan Daniels screamed at the top of his lungs when Kurt ported in their cramped quarters, filling the enclosed space with the smoke and the smell of brimstone.

*

*

*

Rogue sat down with her back on the stone wall. She was glad that the walls were cold. The tropical climate was killing her. Not only was it strikingly hot, her clothes had glued themselves to her skin because of sweat. She peeled the protective layers she wore one by one, starting with the gloves, until she was wearing only her tank top. 

She frowned when she saw red on black eyes watching her every move. "What?" She demanded irritably.

"_Cher_," came the husky reply. "You have no idea what effects you are having to this Cajun,"

Rogue would've blushed if her cheeks weren't already red from all the running she did. She didn't know how to answer that one, so she didn't.

Remy eased himself down until he was sitting beside her. He, too, had removed his gloves and trench coat. Without hesitation, he firmly took her chin with his fingers and turned her head until the two of them were face to face. "_Chere_,"

Rogue licked her suddenly dry lips, causing Remy to moan softly.

Remy moved his head closer.

And suddenly, Rogue was laughing.

"What?" Remy frowned. "What did Remy do wrong?"

"Nothing!" Rogue replied after she got her laughter under control.

"So why is the Rogue laughing?" Remy demanded, his ego smarting.

Rogue shook her head. "You didn't do anything wrong, sugah," she assured him. "In fact, you did everything by the book,"

Remy, being a good sport, waited for her to continue.

"It's just that I feel like I'm in one of those afternoon specials or something. I mean, can things be any more cliché?"

"Ah, a _femme_ who likes originality." He gave her a smile as he stood up and stretched.

Rogue shook her head. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I'm not just plain interested?"

"_Non_." Remy grinned. "As far as this Cajun is concerned, all _femmes_ are interested."

"Nothing really destroys that ego of yours, huh?" Rogue laughed. "You are one of a kind,"

"Remy knows that too." He gave her a smile, a real one this time, not the one he flashes to women when he wants something, anything. "So how about a kiss?"

"No thanks." Rogue replied automatically.

"Think about it,_ cher_," he told her. "You have no powers. It's the perfect time for you to _explore_ the _physical_ aspects of being a hormone-driven teen. After all, we're only young once."

"You never miss an opportunity, do you?"

"Not if Remy can help it."

Rogue grinned at him. "Again, thanks, but no."

Remy suddenly hauled Rogue to her feet. "Roguey, there is this undeniable attraction between the two of us, no matter how much you deny it. Remy was raised to take all and any chance that fate throws his way,"

"Of course," Rogue muttered, taking a step back when he stepped forward. "Remy was also raised a thief." Moving backwards turned out to be a wrong move, as she was now trapped between the solid wall and Remy's body.

And he knows she was trapped. Remy smirked. He got her where he wanted her. "This is our chance, _chere_. Time to confirm that there is something between us."

"There is nothing between us, Swamp Rat." Rogue insisted, her voice brimming with confidence she does not feel.

"Then prove it."

Rogue hesitated.

"Scared?"

"I am not!" Rogue glared at him for a moment before coming to a decision. "Fine. One kiss. Just to prove to you that there is no magic or whatever between you and me." With that, she squeezed her eyes shut.

Remy's grin grew wider as he looked at the girl before him. Eyes shut, chin jutting out in indignation, body tense, hands clenched at her sides. "Relax, _cher_, you're going to get kissed, not tortured." He whispered seductively to her ears.

Rogue took a deep, calming breath, but didn't open her eyes. Remy's husky whispers in her ear were having an effect on her system. Her heart started to beat a little wildly.

And then, she felt Remy move his face downwards. And then, he was kissing her—her forehead! 

Rogue's eyes flew open as Remy stepped back. Rogue's mouth fell open in shock. "That's it?"

Remy chuckled. "Well, if _ma chere _wants more," he started to reach for her again.

Rogue scrambled out of his reach. "No! No!" She protested a little too quickly. "I was just…surprised." Disappointed was more like it. But she'd join the X-Men first before admitting that out loud.

"Remy reconsidered," he told her. "Remy wanted your first kiss to be special, to happen because you wanted it as much, if not more. He reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "Remy wanted your first kiss to be because of you wanted to be kissed and not because you wanted to prove something."

Rogue didn't believe it was possible, but she swore she saw the embers in Remy's eyes burn hotter, become more potent. But she forced herself to smirk. "What made you think that I've never been kissed before? That you'll be my first kiss?" The questions were delivered with as much nonchalance as she could muster.

Remy regarded her quietly for a full minute before answering. "_Ma_ Roguey doesn't like being touched." He finally said. "You don't consider your powers as much as a curse as it is protection, _henh_? Remy wonders, what happened during your first kiss that makes you flinch away from the physical part of a relationship?"

Rogue swallowed the lump which suddenly formed in her throat. She forced her thoughts away from Mississippi.

"What makes you dislike kissing, even if your partner is someone as good as Remy obviously is?" Remy continued.

Rogue gaped in shock. Then, she burst out laughing.

*

*

*

Jean Grey didn't stand a chance.

Separated from everyone else when the Robot attacked, disoriented without her mutant powers, she started to run blindly.

And when she turned around, she gasped when she saw that the robot was flying—_flying!—_right behind her.

"Halt, mutant!" Came the robotic voice.

But Jean Grey kept running.

Until the robot let out, not laser beams, but a missile this time.

The missile hit a tree which fell directly on Jean's path.

Jean shrieked as she jumped back, away from the falling tree.

And then, she felt a cold, metal hand close over her waist.

And she was caught.

*

*

*

**~tbc**

*

PS. 

To all you Xmen Comic Book junkies, you all know what Rogue and Remy _supposedly _did in a cave, right? Well, this is my XME version of it. =) I'm one of those people who believed that the two of them did nothing more than hold each other in the cave. But, that's just me.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Christmas. And enjoy the New Year!

Thanks to those who reviewed. And keep them coming! ^^


	8. Catch Me If You Can

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

*

A/N: I suck in writing action sequences so I try to avoid them whenever possible. So if you expect some kick-ass events happening, ya'll have my permission to imagine it all in your heads. Sorry.

*

Previously on XME…When Team Blue reached the island where their teachers/guardians were taken as prisoners, their plans of rescuing them crumbled when they found out that their powers were negated. What's worse, they were separated from each other due to an attack by a robot whose purpose in life was to capture &/or destroy mutants. Jean Grey was one of the first to be caught. On the upside, Rogue and Remy took a step forward in their relationship.

*

*

*__

Chapter 8 

*

"Sir, our radars have detected a disturbance in Sector 7. A barge of some sort is heading straight to the island."

A man behind the massive oak desk placed his hands on the table. He sighed and bowed his head, as if in thought. "And the occupant?"

"There are at least five of them. And we believe them to also be possessors of the X-Gene, sir."

A cold, hard smile appeared on the face of the soldier's superior. "Good. Send the Sentinel at them. I want them captured alive, if possible."

*

*

*

"This is all your fault, Summers!" Pietro grumbled for the hundredth time that hour. 

Scott was just thankful that Pietro didn't have his super speed so he didn't have to endure the silver-haired boy's complaint at a hundred miles per hour.

But he never wished for his eye beams so bad as he was right now, wanting to shut Pietro up with it.

"And why are you still wearing those stupid visors?" Pietro demanded as he whirled around to face Scott.

Scott froze. Then, his right hand involuntarily went to finger his glasses. He never wanted to admit it, but those glasses served as some sort of obscure security blanket for him. Before he got his glasses, his powers were haywire. He can't even open his eyes, but since he got them, things seem to get better. He was adopted by the Professor, he began to lead the X-Men, he started living a normal life, sort of. He didn't want to admit it, especially not in front of Pietro, but the thought of removing his glasses was terrifying.

"Well?" Pietro tapped his foot impatiently. "Are you going to remove it now?"

"My glasses are none of your business, Maximoff," he told him as he began to walk again.

"And where are we going again?" Pietro demanded. "For all we know, you're leading us around in circles."

"Look, Maximoff, why don't you go your way and I'll go mine?" Scott snapped.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

And with that, the two went on their separate ways.

*

*

*

"Lance?" Kitty asked groggily. "What's happening?"

"We're under attack." Lance said as he ran into the women's quarters. "Wanda, wake up. We need you."

Kitty was hurt that Lance immediately went to the Scarlett Witch to ask for help.

"What can I do?" Kitty asked him as she joined him and Wanda on the deck. Kitty gasped when she saw a metallic robot swiping away at Evan. Then, it let out a green goo that enclosed Evan and quickly solidified.

Lance extended his arms and tried to shake the ocean floor. It resulted in a tsunami, engulfing the robot and violently shaking their boat.

Moments later, the robot surfaced. 

This time, Wanda let out her hex bolt.

The robot froze.

Kurt ported in with Bobby.

"Another one's coming in!" Lance called out.

"I got it!" Bobby said as he iced up and concentrated his powers on icing up the incoming robot.

"There's another one." Lance said.

"Can't hold it much longer!" Wanda cried.

"Lance!" Kitty repeated. "What can I do to help?"

Lance looked at her for a moment. "Can you phase the whole boat?"

Kitty bit her lip. She never tried phasing anything that large before. But she nodded determinedly. 

Wanda screamed as the robot she was holding with her powers broke free. It launched the green gook at her.

"Wanda!" Lance cried out. "Alright." He shook the ocean floor again.

"Incoming!" Kurt called out as two missiles launched itself at the boat.

Kitty grabbed on hull and concentrated with all her might. The missiles went through their boat!

"Great job, Kitty!" Lance called out.

"Thanks," Kitty grinned at him then promptly fainted.

*

*

*

Rogue sighed as she straddled the world between sleep and wakefulness. Stretching luxuriously, she took her sweet time in waking up. Peaceful slumber often eludes her, as her sleep is often plagued with nightmares, so during the rare times it comes to her, she treasures it and prolongs it as long as she could.

And then the weirdest thing happened.

Her pillow moved.

Rogue instantly snapped awake, but kept her eyes closed. Someone else was in her room with her. No one in the Brotherhood, not even Mystique, was dumb enough to be in such close proximity to her when she was sleeping.

She realized that whoever was with her, she was using that person as a make-shift pillow. 

Then, with movement that would've made Quicksilver jealous, Rogue was suddenly up, pulling with her whomever was invading her personal space. And in a blink of the eye, she had thrown that person over her shoulder.

"And good morning to you too, _chere_," Remy, with his training, though surprised, had landed on his feet.

"Gambit?" Then, the events of the previous day came tumbling down on her. Right. The two of them were hiding in a cave from a tin can. They must have fallen asleep after darkness had fallen.

Remy smirked. "And here Remy was thinking that his _chere_ was mumbling his name beautifully in her sleep."

Rogue reddened. "I was not!" Defensive position quickly abandoned, Rogue's hands flew to her waist. She glared at him.

"Well, now that we caught up on our beauty sleep, how about we take care of the bottomless pit, _henh_?" He asked, patting his stomach.

Rogue frowned, but internally, she was relieved that they were finally off _that_ particular topic. "How about we ignore your stomach and come up with a plan to save Irene and the others?"

"Hard to think on an empty stomach, _cher_." Remy said as he patted the trench coat he had discarded earlier because of the heat, and the fact that the sea water had not been merciful on it. "Ah, here we go." He pulled out an unopened bar of chocolate. He tore open the package and divided it into two. "Here."

Rogue easily caught it. "Thanks," she muttered, but already, the wheels inside her brain were turning, trying to come up with a plan to save their teammates. "Do you think they escaped from the tin can?"

Remy shrugged as he quickly demolished the bar in two hungry bites. 

"So what now?"

"We'll find out soon enough." Was his cryptic reply as he stood up gracefully. He also pulled her to her feet, then made sure he stayed between him and the entrance of the cave. 

"Remy?"

"Shh."

And then, Rogue felt it. The slight tremble of the ground underneath her. Impulsively, she clutched Remy's shoulders. 

Another tremble. Stronger this time.

"Remy?"

"It'll be fine, _petite_," he whispered soothingly to her. He almost took out his cards from his coat, only to remember that without his mutant powers, they were just ordinary playing cards.

Another tremble, one that made bits of the earth from the ceiling fall down. 

The next tremble made Rogue lose her balance a little.

And the next…

Rogue screamed as a large metal head broke through the cave entrance.

Fortunately, the cave opening couldn't accommodate the whole of the robot's body so it had to destroy mounds of earth, which promptly collapsed on the robot, giving Rogue and Remy time to escape.

"Do we have a plan?" Rogue asked as she blindly followed Remy deeper into the cave.

"_Oui_." Remy said. "It's run for our lives."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Great." 

"Look!" Rogue pointed to a spot where sunlight pilfered into the cave. 

"Got it, _chere_." Taking his bo staff from his coat, he quickly unfolded it and jabbed it upwards. Bits of earth fell down. And at Remy's second attempt, the whole created on the ceiling became large enough for a full-grown person to climb through.

"After you, _chere_." Remy bowed grandiosely.

Rogue snorted as she jumped up and grabbed the edge of the hole to pull herself up. Remy the pushed her through.

"Hurry up!" Rogue called at him from the outside as she went down at all fours and extended a hand to him.

Though he knew that he could climb through the hole in his sleep, Remy took the offered hand. 

And afterwards, when they were both standing safely outside, Remy playfully kissed her uncovered hand.  

"_Merci, cherie_."

Rogue simply shook her head. "Let's go. I have no desire to go one on one with that thing without my powers," she began walking away.

Remy agreed with her but didn't say anything. 

Then suddenly, a large metal hand burst through the ground.

"Roguey!"

The hand grabbed hold of Rogue's leg.

"Remy!"

"Hold on, _petite_," he called to her as he tried to pry open the grasp with his staff.

But the hand was already pulling Rogue downwards.

Remy grabbed Rogue's hand with both of his hands. 

"Too late, Remy." Rogue told him. "Go find the others."

"But _petite_,"  
  


"No sense having both of us captured," she told him. She was scared but she didn't want to admit it. "You better rescue me, Cajun,"

"Never could resist a damsel in distress," Remy threw her a careless grin before reluctantly running away.

*

*

*

"Let me go!" Jean Grey struggled as two men took her from her prison cell.

"Shut up. He's waiting for you." One of the guards said as he cuffed her hands.

"Who's he?"

"You'll know soon enough." The other said.

"Ouch!" Jean glared at the guard as she was half-led, half-dragged outwards. And the corridors toward her destination just about broke her heart. 

She saw the Professor, strapped in a bed. Irene, sitting quietly on a bench. Mr. McCoy, gripping the bars, looking at her with sorrowful eyes. And Wolverine…he no longer was the larger than life animal that he was. And the next cell made her stop.

"Kitty?" She choked out

"Jean!" The younger girl cried out as he ran to the bars to grip it. "We're sorry, Jean, they attacked in the middle of the night. We were caught by surprise."

"Where are the others?"

"Let's go," the guard said as he dragged Jean along.

"Wait! Wait!'

*

*

*

Rogue frowned as the redheaded guard slipped her ration of food for the day.

"Eat up." The guard told her. "If you know what's good for you." Then, he walked away to continue his rounds.

Rogue would've ignored the guard in not for the familiar way he commanded her to eat. Frowning, Rogue took the container of the food and dug through it with her fingers. Not to be disappointed, she discovered a slip of paper within it. She read its contents. A smile spread across her face. 

Then, she began to eat the food. She would certainly need it.

And later, when the guards went to get her, she was feeling a bit more energized than when she was brought in.

*

*

*

The redheaded guard once again made his second round for the day. His first round was with old prisoners plus the telepath and the soul vampire. But last night, the Sentinels had brought in six new prisoners, the ones they captured from the boat. They were his second round.

His lips thinned as he saw two of the newer ones. One of them looked normal enough, but the other, he was covered in blue fur and looked like the devil himself.

The normal looking one gripped the bars of his cell. "Let us out!" He demanded when the guard slipped what seemed to be food under his cell.

"Shut up." The guard said. "And save your strength. You'll need it."

The boy looked at him with confusion in his eyes. Then his eyes widened. "You are—"

The demonic-looking boy fell over in shock.

The guard smirked.

The boy took a step back and nodded. "Whatever."

*

*

*

"Rogue?" Jean gasped as she was brought into a large office of some sort. On the floor was an unconscious Rogue.

"I strongly suggest that you keep from doing anything drastic if you don't want to end up like your friend down there." The man behind the large desk proclaimed.

"Who are you?" Jean demanded.

"Trask." He replied as he stood up. "Bolivar Trask."

*

*

*

Remy stalked outside the place where they were keeping Rogue imprisoned. He had followed the robot from a safe distance after it had captured Rogue.

Then, he noticed someone lurking in the shadows.

He was good, but Remy was better. He grinned when he saw who it was.

"Boo."

Hands automatically raced to his visor. He lifted it up, but no beams shot out.

"What are you trying to do? Glare at Gambit to death?"

"Shut up, LeBeau." Scott grumbled as he returned to his original position. He saw three robots that night and decided to follow them. And they led him here.

"Alright, Fearless," Remy slouched next to him. "Any plans?"

"For now, we wait."

*

*

*

"Why don't you take a seat, Miss Grey?" Trask asked politely.

Jean wasn't given a choice as one of the guards placed a heavy hand on her shoulder and forced her to sit down.

"What do you want from us?" Jean demanded.

Trask grinned. "From mutants generally?" He rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Well, research, mostly. After all, we want to know what humanity is up against."

"Mutants are not against humanity. We are human!" Jean spat out.

"Really?" Trask seem amused. "Well, we're not sitting idly by to test that theory," he shook his head. "We won't stand for it. It's better if we make the pre-emptive strike."

"That why you abducted all the adults with your robots,"

"With my Sentinels, yes. They would protect humanity from menaces like you. And after we're done with our research, then, we simply eliminate the threats on humanity."

Jean's eyes widened. "Genocide?" 

"My Sentinels would be programmed to search and destroy all aberrations of humanity," he smiled serenely. "Now, back to your question."

"You pig," Jean spat and was immediately silenced by the heavy hand of a guard slapping her.

He continued as if nothing happened. "You wanted to know what I wanted from you." He grinned. "I read Destiny's Diaries. I guess I just wanted to get to know the two major characters in her prophecies. Her prophesies that is now avoided thanks mainly to my Sentinel project."

Jean closed her eyes and tried to tune him out.

"I wanted to see the two most powerful beings in the future." Bolivar Trask turned to Jean and Rogue. "I cannot believe that you are the two women Destiny described in her diaries. One would destroy the world. The other would save it. Finally. I have the two most powerful beings in the future at my disposal."

*

*

*

Gambit, seeing his chance, was able to slip inside the facility despite the heavy guards. He didn't even wait for Ol' One-Eye's approval, certain that he wouldn't get one.

Soon enough, he found himself in the bowels of the place, the cells where they kept their prisoners.

The first cell just about broke his heart.

In it was a small kid, no more than eleven. He was thin and shackled and had a shock of brown hair. And his skin displayed bruises and scars, telltale signs of abuse.

Gambit, having grown up on the streets, would not stand for it.

"_Petite_?"

The kid's eyes flew open and showed signs of terror.

"Shh, _petite_," he soothed him. "Remy's not one of them. Remy's here to get you out."

"R-remy?" Came the weak and raspy voice. "Who's Remy?"

"That be my name," he smiled at him as he began to work on the lock of the kid's cell and then at his shackles.

"M-my name's Jaime."

*

*

*

**~tbc**

P.S. Happy New Year to all! =)


	9. The Great Escape

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

*

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed. =) I loved each and everyone of them. And if this chapter and the previous ones seem rushed, it's because I hate doing action scenes. Plus, I realized that this part of the plot are only stepping stones to my story and not the actual conflict or the climax or whatever (I never did pay much attention to my English classes). 

Anyway, this chap is experimental. I need feedback if the stuff that happened makes sense. If not, then it's back to the drawing board for me. I think I'll put this chap on probation. I'll take it down in ten days and revise it if no one understood them.  So I need your feedback, people! Thanks!

*

_Previously on XME_: _The antagonist of the story is revealed—he's none other than Bolivar Trask. After capturing the members of Team Blue and Jean and Rogue of Team Gold, Trask reveals to Jean her destiny. Remy, who was able to infiltrate Trask's facility, found and liberated a young boy named Jaime. The captured Brotherhood members, on the other hand, receive a yet unrevealed message from a redheaded guard._

* Chapter 9 

*

"I wanted to see the two most powerful beings in the future." Bolivar Trask turned to Jean and to the unconscious Rogue. "I cannot believe that you are the two women Destiny described in her diaries. One would destroy the world. The other would save it. Finally. I have you two at my disposal."

Jean's eyes widened. Most powerful beings in the future? But before she can open her mouth to react, a redheaded guard burst in the room, the one whose duty was to feed the prisoners.

"Sir!" He said frantically. "There was a security breach. Two mutants from Sector Three have broken out of their cell!"

Bolivar Trask shot up in shock. "That's impossible!" His jaw hardened. "I want them captured immediately." He called to his guards.

Three of his five guards immediately left the room.

"Bring them back to their cells," he commanded the other two, gesturing towards Rogue and Jean. 

"I don't think so." To everyone's surprise, Rogue got up and delivered a blow to the guard who had stooped down to pick her up. The guard, caught unaware, didn't stand a chance, as he quickly folded up and was rendered unconscious.

"Get her!" Trask roared to the other guard and the redheaded man.

"No." The redheaded man said as he brandished a gun and pointed it at Trask.

Trask's eyes widened.

Rogue quickly disposed of the other guard as Jean had taken it upon herself to bind the limbs of the unconscious guard with the bountiful wires at Trask's feet.

"What is the meaning of this?"

The redheaded guard smiled sinisterly. "You underestimated my intelligence, Trask. Do you really think that we would be caught unaware?" With that, he pulled off his realistic face mask.

"M-Mystique!"

*

*

*

"This way." Lance placed back the piece of paper which contained a sketch of the whole facility. Mystique had given them that after she had let him and Kurt of their cells with the order to destroy the machine that was holding their powers in check.

Kurt nodded as he took the lead, more used in stealth than the older boy. Ducking behind corners and keeping out of the soldiers' way, they soon made it to the room housing the super computers.

Lance was working as fast a he could. He wanted to finish Mystique's orders as soon as possible. The sooner they were done, the sooner they could go look for Kitty. Ah, yes. And for Rogue and Wanda. Must not forget the two gir—er, ladies.

Kurt tried pushing the doors open. "It's locked."

Lance grinned as he held out the card that Mystique gave them along with the map. That woman is nothing but meticulous. He fitted the card in the slot beside the door and it easily slid open.

"What are you doing here?" A man in a white lab coat gasped as he saw Kurt.

"We're here to wish you sweet dreams," Lance said as he delivered a knock-out punch to the science geek.

Kurt grinned as he walked up to the computer console. So this is the device that had negated their powers. "Oooh. I wonder what does this button do…"

"I don't know," Lance grinned as he found and grabbed hold of a metal chair. "Want to find out?" And with that, he swung the chair with all his might.

*

*

*

"Kit-Kat!" Remy grinned as he saw Kitty sulking inside her cell.

Kitty looked up and cheered considerably. "Remy! You're here!" She ran towards him in delight. But as she grasped the bars, she suddenly phased out.

And nobody was as shocked as she.

Remy laughed. "_Petite_, you don't have to pretend to be a damsel in distress just to have Remy notice you,"

Kitty stuck out her tongue at him. "If I could do that before, do you think I would just stand in there doing nothing?"

Remy shrugged as he took out a card from his pocket. He held it out and it immediately began to glow. "Whatever it be that cancelled out our powers be gone now, _henh_?"

"Cool!" A voice filled with wonder interrupted them.

Kitty looked behind Remy and saw a young boy. "Hello."

The boy shied away from her and immediately hid himself behind Remy, clasping the older man's trench coat like a shield.

"It be OK, _petit_," Remy assured him as he took out the charge from his card and slipped it back to his pocket. No sense in wasting ammo. They have no idea what they're up against. "Kitty be a friend. Kitty, this _pup_ be Jaime. Remy found him."

"And he just followed you home, huh?" 

"Remy not be home yet, but I think the _fille_'s got the general idea,"

"Well, let's go free the others!" Kitty suggested excitedly as she took Remy's arm and pulled.

*

*

*

After Mystique had removed the prosthetics that was covering her blue skin, she smiled at Trask malevolently. "That was a weird feeling," she admitted. "Masquerading as someone else using make-ups and what-nots. Perhaps I should even thank you for the experience."

"You scum." Trask growled at her.

Jean suddenly gasped as she closed her eyes in pain.

"What is it?" Rogue asked in concern.

"My powers," Jean said as she re-adjusted to the feeling of a thousand thoughts trying to invade her brain. "They're coming back."

"Good." Mystique said. "Rogue. Go find Irene and Erik." She tossed Rogue a pair of gloves she wore with her soldier uniform.

Rogue nodded as she held out her arms. Slowly, she rose from the ground with her _borrowed_ telekinetic powers. With Mag's powers, the doors opened. "It's good to be back," she smirked before floating out.

*

*

*

"That stupid Cajun," Scott muttered to himself as he moved slowly around the building, desperately searching for a way in. "That idiot." He had been muttering obscenities and insults that would've made Wolverine blush against Gambit since he turned around and found the thief missing. Gambit knew that such blatant display of disobedience really got on his nerves in the Danger Room. But here and now where lives are at stake…

If anything happened to the Professor, or to Jean, or even to Rogue, the thief would answer personally to his eyebeams. 

Speaking of which, Scott pushed up his glasses to scratch wearily at his tired eyes. And when he opened them…

"What's going on there?" An irate soldier demanded after a red beam nearly took his head off. 

A slow smile spread on Scott's face. There goes his covertness, but on the upside…

*

*

*

It's been said that if a person is close to dying, his life would flash before his very eyes in a single instant.

Logan never believed such nonsense. Having lived more years than other people, he figured that it would take more that a single instant to relive his life. And he wondered if such nonsense was actually true, would the blind spots in his memories would eventually be revealed to him?

But now, he was reevaluating his opinion.

Flashes of memories rushed in his mind. The face of his father, one he barely remembered. The voice of his mother. People he met. His lover. His friend. The first guy he had killed. Xavier. The kids. Mystique. Sabertooth. 

Doctors.

Scientists.

And suddenly, he was in a glass cell, numb, barely conscious, bound. The liquid that contained his body was freezing cold. He tried to move but he cannot. He slowly opened his eyes. There were people on the other side, but he cannot see their faces.

The world, as he saw it, was hazy and green. Like that ridiculous city in a book he had read somewhere, some time. Was he still a boy back then? He can't remember. But that's not important right now.

He wanted to struggle, but he can't.

And then, the pain came.

He struggled. The pain was unbearable. He wanted to scream but his mouth was gagged. He wanted to run away but he was trapped.

And then, it stopped. As suddenly as it had come, it stopped.

And inside, he felt as if he had begun to heal himself.

But it was when the pain ended that his rage begun.

Revenge.

And then his hands were burning hot.

He was not an animal.

He wanted his freedom.

He wanted to avenge himself.

Three metal claws suddenly shot out from each of his hands.

Revenge was his.

*

*

*

"Wanda?" Kitty was appalled to see the Scarlet Witch balled up in a corner of her cell, hugging her knees, rocking gently back and forth, as tears streamed down from her eyes. "Wanda! Let's go." 

Remy frowned as he began to work on the locks.

"I got this," Kitty phased through the bars and kneeled before the Goth. "Wanda,"

No response.

"Wanda." Kitty repeated as she grabbed Wanda on her shoulders.

Wanda winced.

"She be terrified, _petite_," Remy told Kitty as he squatted beside her.

Then Kitty remembered. Professor X had told them that Wanda used to be kept in a mental asylum where she had spent most of her childhood. She hated it there. Mystique busted her out once they found what had happened to her. Mastermind had altered her mind to keep to keep her from killing her father (the last tidbit was relayed by a gossiping Lance). But it seemed that Wanda's unconscious gave her a fear of incarceration.

And now, it seemed as if Wanda had snapped when confronted with her worst fears.

"_Chere_," the Cajun's smooth voice spoke slowly and soothingly. "We're going to get you out of here, your hear? It gonna be alright, _petite_. Remy's going to take care of everything." All the while he was speaking, Remy had reached out to Wanda and had offered his hand.

Charm powers, Kitty realized. He was using his charm powers to get Wanda out.

Slowly, Wanda took the offered hand and let Remy help he stand up.

"Now, we be out of this cell, _chere_." Remy gave her a grin. "Remy knows how much you hate it here."

Wanda nodded as she let herself be led out.

Kitty beamed at Remy, impressed.

"You're so cool," Jaime stated in a voice full of her-worship, eyes full of wonder.

"_Oui_," the cocky Cajun was back. "The ladies can't resist Remy."

*

*

*

Rogue flew through the Sector Two where she was originally held and was surprised to see that the cells were empty. She was now checking out Sector One. Irene had to be here somewhere.

She peered in the first cell. In it was the prone figure of the Wolverine.

She frowned as she used her magnetic powers to open the high-tech locks. Wolverine looked older than when she saw him last. She shuddered to think what sort of research Trask performed upon him. But she kept herself from thinking what that madman had done to Irene. Irene better be alive or else…

"Mr. Wolverine?" Rogue asked tentatively as she flew closer to the man. She then kneeled to the floor and picked up the upper extremities of the much-feared mutant, trying to determine if he was still alive.

Snikt.

Rogue's eyes widened in shock. Three sharp, metal claws had imbedded themselves in her chest. Red soaked her uniform as black started to blur her vision.

*

*

*

Lance and Kurt were on Sector Three. Unable to open the locks in the cell, Kurt had taken into porting into every one and porting its captive out.

"Hurry!" Evan said as he shot out his spikes at the weapons of the soldiers after them.

"Alright, alright," Kurt grumbled as he ported in Bobby's cell. 

"We have our powers back?" A confused Bobby asked.

Kurt nodded as his tail swished excitedly. 

"Where's Pietro?" Lance demanded as he looked into the rest of the cells and didn't see Quicksilver.

"Didn't see him," Evan replied with a frown. Although he didn't like the guy, he wanted no one but him to put the silver-haired boy in his place.

Lance's mouth set itself into a grim line. 

Kurt sent out a silent prayer for his missing teammate. 

"Let's go look for the girls." Lance said instead.

"Hold it right there!" The leader of a group of soldiers shouted as he and five others besides stood in the mutants' way.

Lance's yes rolled back as he extended his arms. "Let's rock and roll!"

And they did just that.

*

*

*

"I think we just found out what his powers were," Kitty said in amusement as she held out her hand to Jaime, who had fallen to his butt on the floor.

"I produce twins!" Jaime said, but his voice came from somewhere beside Remy.

The four of them had been sneaking around in the facility, dodging the increasing number of guards, trying to locate their teammates when a group of soldiers had seen them. A struggle ensued, one which ended quickly thanks to the return of Gambit's kinetic powers. That man throws cards like nobody's business. One after the other, cards exploded, causing the group of soldiers to either run or be rendered unconscious because of the explosions. And all throughout the ordeal, the soldiers can't even touch them because Kitty had phased all four of them through everything that the soldiers threw back at them. Of course, because of the hex bolts Wanda (who was getting more and more like herself) threw with a vengeance, there was really nothing much the soldiers could throw at them in the first place.

But when everything else was over, Kitty must have held Jaime too hard for when they became tangible again, there appeared two Jaimes, much to the confusion of Kitty and Remy.

"_Oui_, _petite_," Remy grinned at the boy. "You got yourself your own army."

Jaime grinned like he had been awarded the biggest compliment of the year.

"Look!" Kitty squealed as she pointed to the door labeled Sector 1. "I bet that door leads to another place where they lock up their prisoners."

Remy was about to show-off to Jaime his door-opening prowess when Kitty grabbed all of them and phased them through.

And it looked like Kitty was right. 

"Oh my god!" Wanda shrieked.

Kitty gasped when she saw Wolverine, half-sitting up, half-lying down, inside the first cell. She immediately pulled Jaime behind her.

But what was more shocking was the woman inside the cell with him. She was facing Wolverine, kneeling down. It was obvious that it was she who propped him up. And on her back protruded three metal claws.

Remy was beside the two in an instant. "What happened, _homme_?"

Wolverine growled as his claws slowly retracted. Life began to shift in his eyes. He was waking up.

Remy caught Rogue as she fell down when the claws released her body.

Suddenly, Wolverine's eyes filled with shock. "What the hell happened here?"

"You gutted her in your sleep." Wanda glared daggers at the man as she kneeled beside her friend and tried to examine the damage. "Crap."

"No problem," Remy said confidently.

"She's bleeding to death!" Wanda snapped.

Remy smirked. "We've got the Wolverine here,"

"I think this is how this whole problem started," 

"Remy thinks he likes you better shell-shocked."

"And I think you're both wasting our time!" Kitty snapped at them.

Wolverine gave another growl as he placed his hand on Rogue's cheek.

Remy and Wanda watched in morbid fascination as slowly, Rogue's injuries started to heal.

*

*

*

"So we just make things go boom?" Kurt asked in wide-eyed fascination. It was like a dream come true.

"Knock yourself out," Lance told him.

Kurt looked like a little kid at Christmas as he turned to the complex beeping and blinking machineries before him. "Alright!" Completely ignoring Lance, he turned to the machines and started pushing buttons.

"I'm gonna take off now," Lance said. "Gonna look for the girls."

"_Ja_." Kurt said, never taking his eyes off the giant screen in front. "Later."

*

*

*

"Tryin' to save me again, Cajun?" Were the first words out of her mouth.

Remy smirked. "Always, _chere_."

Rogue struggled to get up. "Wanda?"

"Right here, Rogue."

"How about we stop this mumbo jumbo and start savin' the others?" Wolverine grumbled, a little weak from the power drain but unwilling to let his weakness show.

"Alright." 

"Wow. Her ouchies just disappeared," Jaime gasped as he fingered his own injuries. He wished he could make all those disappear too.

Suddenly, alarms started sounding. The place became bathed in blinking red light.

"_Self-destruct mode enabled_." A female robotic voice announced from an unseen speaker. "_This place would self-destruct in ten minutes. All personnel are requested to calmly exit the building. This is not a test_."

"Alright. Split up." Wolverine commanded them. He knew that the first batch of mutants, like he was, was in no condition to _calmly exit the building_. They had experienced horrors in the hands of Bolivar Trask. "Save whomever you can."

*

*

*

Kurt was in love. With a shiny new red button.

With fingers trembling from excitement, he slowly reached for the release mechanism that would bear the button for him to press. 

The latch opened, the red button laid before him, waiting for Kurt.

And press the button he did.

"_Self-destruct mode enabled_." A female robotic voice announced. "_This place would self-destruct in ten minutes. All personnel are requested to calmly exit the building. This is not a test_."

"Uh-oh. That can't be good," Kurt winced.

*

*

*

"Wow!" Jaime's eyes widened when he saw a big, flurry man inside a glass cage filled with liquid. He had entered the only cell that was unlocked. It was just like in the movies. Looking around, he saw a lever of some sort. Walking towards it, he tried to pull it downwards but it was just too stuck for him to move. Then, he got an idea. Pinching himself, another Jaime appeared. He repeated the process until there was eight of him in the room.

Together, all eight Jaimes pulled the lever down.

Slowly, the lever moved. And when it was all the way down, the liquid began to seep out of the tank.

Jaime watched as the blue monster blink in confusion until he fully woke up. Then, the blue mutant struck the glass. It cracked. Another blow to the glass broke it.

"I take it I owe my liberties to you, young man?" 

Jaime was surprised that such a kind and affectionate voice could come from a monster like him. So he smiled and nodded.

"_This place would self-destruct in eight minutes. All personnel are requested to calmly exit the building. This is not a test_." The robotic voice said again.

"I gather that would be our cue to leave. Lead the way, young sir."

*

*

*

"Omigosh! Storm!" Kitty cried out as she hurriedly removed the straps that were holding Storm down in a hospital bed. Storm had a lot of cuts and bruises. Kitty struggled with a particularly tricky strap. Then she slapped her head. "Duh!" She then took Storm's hand and phased her through the bed.

Storm let out a moan.

Kitty helped the half-conscious Storm to her feet. Placing Storm's arm on her shoulders, she supported the older woman out of the room. "We're going to get you out of here, promise." 

"_This place would self-destruct in eight minutes. All personnel are requested to calmly exit the building. This is not a test_." The robotic voice said again.

*

*

*

"Hello, father."

The normally regal and strong looking Magneto was bound in a straight-jacket, pretty much like the ones Wanda spent her childhood in. He seemed dazed, possibly from all the drugs they injected in his system.

For some twisted reason, Wanda took a little pleasure in that. Hesitating a moment, she hexed the lock so that it would open for her. "So, dad, where's your little illusionist pet? Oh, that's right. He left a few months before all of these happened. I haven't seen your little boy either. So I guess it'll just be you and me." With a point of her finger, the jacket fell off. Wanda removed his gag next.

"_This place would self-destruct in eight minutes. All personnel are requested to calmly exit the building. This is not a test_." The robotic voice said again.

Together, father and daughter made their way out of the cell.

*

*

*

His claws _unlocking_ the cell door for him, Wolverine stepped into the small room. One sniff and he knew that he was faced with a choice.

Sabertooth was chained on the wall, unconscious.

Cursing the stupid honor Xavier awakened in him, Wolverine diced the chains and slung the unconscious man on his shoulders.

"_This place would self-destruct in eight minutes. All personnel are requested to calmly exit the building. This is not a test_." The robotic voice said again.

He walked out the door muttering profanities.

*

*

*

Rogue grimaced when she saw the most powerful mind on the earth slumped in a wheelchair.

His eyes were open, but it seemed that there was no one home.

"Professor?" She shook him gently.

No answer.

"_This place would self-destruct in eight minutes. All personnel are requested to calmly exit the building. This is not a test_." The robotic voice said again.

"Professor?" Rogue realized that whatever they had done to him, it had to be horrible enough to make him loose his mind. She sighed. Well, telepaths can save a person driven to insanity, right? Rogue peeled off her gloves and touched the professor's face. 

In hindsight, she realized that it was probably not the most intelligent thing she did in her life.

She just hopes she absorbs his powers and not his insanity.

*

*

*

"Let's go, _mademoiselle_," Remy gave his most charming grin to the lady in front of him, even if he knew that she won't be able to see him.

"No." Irene told him with fierce determination. "I must stay here,"

"But—"

"_This place would self-destruct in eight minutes. All personnel are requested to calmly exit the building. This is not a test_." The robotic voice said again.

"Go!" Destiny commanded him. 

"Non," Remy argued stubbornly. "Roguey—"

"If you insist to take me with you, both of us won't make it." Irene told him.

"Remy doesn't care," he said, preparing to take her by force if necessary. 

"No. You must make it, young man. For Rogue's sake."

Remy frowned in confusion.

"You are the key to her future, to our future. You must take her and teach her the right way. Without you, the end would come."

"Remy can never leave a lady in distress. His poppa would skin him alive if he does." Not to mention what Rogue would do to him.

"Remy Le Beau, your destiny is intimately intertwined with Rogue's. But in the future where you insisted to bring me along, both of us won't make it. Rogue's destiny would come to pass, but she would take the wrong passageway. Without you, she would walk the path of death and destruction. It is only when she is with you that the future's clear."

Remy looked like he would still argue, but Irene held up her hand.

"Go now, young man. If not for the sake of the world, but for Rogue."

*

*

*

**~tbc**


	10. The End of the Beginning

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

*

A/N:

First off, I want to thank **Carla-p** for reviewing _all_ chaps of this story and two others besides. I was having a particularly bad day when I checked my email. But when I saw there were thirteen reviews from ff.net, twelve of them coming from you, it really cheered me up considerably. Thanks. And don't worry, Rogue would continue to be bad. Very bad. =) The only question is, how bad can you take her?

Thank you too, to **Winter Fire**. Your commending my action sequences really made me fall off my chair. Coming from one who writes in the Action/Adventure genre beautifully, your praise meant the world to me.

Oh, and **Danfred** for the correction/impromptu French lesson. =) I appreciate you in saving me from myself. _Merci._

And to the other reviewers, my eternal gratitude is also due to you guys. I would like to answer each and everyone of them, but I have classes six days a week from ten to five and spend most of my break time studying and then, I have this part time job. If I answer individual reviews, well, individually, it would take me forever to update. So sorry! I promise, once I clear up my sched, I'll answer reviews. Plus, rest assured that I read each and everyone of them, treasure them, read suggestions, and answer important questions. Reviews sustain me when I feel threatened by the dreaded writer's block. Thanks.

I decided that since no one's complained of last chapter, I decided to retain it as is. Thanks for the feedback!

This is a short chapter because I wanted to end this plot and move on to the next one. =) Originally, I wasn't even going to write this chapter. I planned on referring to it in flashbacks, but I figured that'll be taxing and would take me longer to update, so I just decided to write it, so here it is. This is only the beginning, or rather, the end of the beginning. Work with me here. 

*

Chapter 10 

*

_Meet at the northeast exit as soon as possible._

Mystique stood statuesquely outside the modern building that was a very sharp contrast from the very untamed and wild jungle behind her. 

The mission was a success.

A rare smile crossed her lips. 

Trask was gone, ergo, the threat to mutants were pushed back another couple of years or so.

They have saved their captured comrades.

Her charges proved to her that they were more that capable of taking care of troubles when the adults were absent.

A breeze ruffled her reddish hair.

"I-got-the-telepathic-message," a harassed looking Pietro zipped by and grinded to a halt beside the shape shifter. After hours of searching without his powers, he finally found the facility by zipping through every inch of the island once his powers were back. "Was-that-Rogue?"

Well, most of her charges anyway, Mystique glanced wryly at their leader's son. 

But most of all, Rogue gained absorbed two mutants and gained a variety of new powers. 

In no time at all, her daughter would be close to invincible.

A small price to pay for the torture that the adult mutants had to go through.

One by one, she watched as X-Men and Brotherhood members alike stagger out of the building, some supporting the others. Soldiers, too, poured out of the building.

*

*

*

"_This place would self-destruct in two minutes. All personnel are requested to calmly exit the building. This is not a test_." The robotic voice announced.

With a gasp, Charles Xavier woke up from his Trask-induced coma. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes were Mystique's charge, the one only known as Rogue.

The child was holding her head, as if in pain.

And in a flash, he understood what had happened.

Rogue had taken his powers in an attempt to get him out of his coma. And she succeeded. Unfortunately, now that her mind wasn't focused on a single goal, all the thoughts of the people in their vicinity were threatening to overwhelm her, just like what happened to Jean when the redhead first manifested her powers.

"Are you all right?" Xavier asked her gently.

Rogue squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on silencing the voices, a job not different from the one she did everyday. Only this time, the voices were coming from outside. "Just give me a sec," she rasped out. After a moment or two, she opened her eyes. "I'm fine now."

Xavier raised an eyebrow in surprise and admiration. It had taken Jean weeks just to control her powers to manageable levels even with his help. He himself took days. And yet it only took this child minutes, seconds in fact, to get things under control.

No wonder Mystique was fighting nail and tooth for Rogue.

Evolution gifted her with powers to absorb the life-force out of a person with a single touch. It seemed that evolution also gave her a body and that would adapt quickly to those powers she absorbed.

The professor made a mental note to keep an eye on Mystique's foster daughter. No doubt that given time, her body would quickly catch up with her powers, enabling her to absorb powers, memory, and skills at will, making her a formidable opponent. 

"This place would self-destruct in one minute. All personnel are requested to calmly exit the building. This is not a test." 

Rogue smiled at the middle-aged man. "Need a lift?" She asked as she lifted the paralytic in her arms. Then, she accessed Pietro's powers and ran out of the cell.

Xavier's mouth fell open in shock. It seemed that the Southern Belle can also retain the powers she absorbed, a development from his initial files from Cerebro. His estimation of the Rogue rose up a notch.

_Meet at the northeast exit as soon as possible._ Rogue grinned as she ended her telepathic conversation with Mystique with the telepathic command she sent to every mutant in the building. Finally. It's almost over.

*

*

*

Five explosions rocked the building complex, one after the other in rapid succession.

Mutants and humans alike stood in awe as the large building was reduced to rubble.

Bolivar Trask was nowhere to be found.

Rogue looked around, glad that it was over. All they had to do was to go home in one piece. 

"Look!" Bobby cried excitedly as he pointed to the heavens above. "Rescue choppers!"

Everyone looked up to see two helicopters hovering in the air.

"I do not think they are here to rescue us." Hank said as his super keen eyesight observed the helicopters. "I believe they are mediamen."

"They probably felt the explosion." Scott agreed.

"Like, we can't let them find us!" Kitty cried out.

"We have to rid their minds of mutants," Xavier, who was being propped up by Scott Summers, told Magneto. Gesturing to the soldiers on ground. "I am afraid that I cannot take care of the helicopters myself."

"I do not wish to hide what I am from the world." Erik said with dignity. "But I want my revelation to be on my terms and not theirs. Therefore, I will help you." He held out his hands, intent on making the helicopter malfunction.

"Wait!" Jean cried out, tears leaking out of her eyes. "We are X-Men. X-Men don't kill!"

Mystique glared at the redhead. She had heard that argument earlier, just before she pumped two bullets in Trask's head. She had obviously upset and traumatized the redhead.

"That is right, Erik." Xavier agreed. "Why don't you let us handle this things our way, for old time's sake?"

"Very well."

"If only Storm was conscious or something, she could, like, do some freaky thing with the weather," Kitty sighed.

Rogue grinned. "I'm on it," she offered, which earned a sinister smile from her mother. "So when you say freaky thing, does it involve lightings and metals?"

"Rogue!" Kitty protested.

"Kidding," Rogue touched Storm's forehead and immediately, she could feel the Weather Witch's powers run through her. As she released Storm, Rogue slowly rose through the sky and commanded the mist to keep the island from view.

Meanwhile, Xavier was erasing the memories of the surviving soldiers from all traces of mutants. He suggested to them that a freak accident had caused an explosion in the research facility.

All the while, red on black eyes quietly observed the redhead who is now in control of the weather. 

*

*

*

With the soldiers gone, the helicopters missing the island, the two groups of exhausted mutants were looking forward to going home.

Unfortunately, they only have one boat.

"I don't think we made plans on what to do _after_ we save the grown-ups." Kurt quipped.

"Er, dibs on the boat?" Bobby called back.

"You make take the boat, Charles," Erik said as pieces of metal junk flew through the air and land themselves at his feet. "I still have energy left in me to bring my team home."

"Wait!" Rogue's eyes roved through the crowd before her. Something's not quite right. She was missing something, something important. "No!" Rogue gasped as she froze in her tracks. "Irene's not yet here!" She started to go back to the fortress. "We have to find her!"

"_Non_!" Remy called out as he reached for her.

But the Brotherhood was faster. Already, Lance and Pietro were trying to hold back Rogue. Normally, they wouldn't be able to do so, but with Rogue exhausted with her exertions, the two easily contained her.

"Irene!" She cried out.

Mystique watched her daughter. Her heart was breaking, but she had more time to prepare for this. She _knew_ that Irene would not walk out of the facility alive. The precog refused to. Mystique, as the guard, even offered to let her escape, but the blind woman refused. 

If she lived, Rogue would never fulfill her destiny. The young girl would instead choose to live quietly at her guardians' sides, never wanting to explore the depths of her powers.

For Rogue to full realize her potential, she must suffer pain and heartbreak. Someone close to her must die.

And Irene would rather sacrifice herself than let Mystique breathe her last.

Remy reached Rogue's side and took her from Lance and Pietro. "Remy's sorry, _chere_," he whispered softly in her ear. "Don't worry, Remy's here now." He stroked her hair soothingly.

Rogue, in a rare showing of weakness, wrapped herself up in the Cajun, tears streaming down her eyes. "Irene," 

Charles watched in interest as Remy comforted Rogue. It was obvious that during their attempts to rescue their leaders, a bond had formed between the two.

On the other hand, Mystique's lips had thinned into a single line. She throttled the maternal instinct to drag her daughter away from the Cajun. Rogue was hurting, and the Cajun seems to make that pain go away a little, that was foremost in her mind.

A few meters away from her, Nightcrawler gave a growl, but came to the same conclusion as that of her mother. He would let the dirty Cajun live, for now.

Meanwhile, Jaime's admiration of his Cajun superhero rise. Not only did he have ultra-mega cool superpowers, he even got his super-duper beautiful girlfriend. Like Superman. No that wasn't right. Lois Lane is sort of a girly girl. Rogue is more of a superhero type herself. Hmm…OK, Batman. Remy's Batman. And Rogue's more like Catwoman.

Jaime frowned. But why was Rogue sad? Isn't she supposed to be happy that Super-Remy had saved her (well, sort of) from the bad men? And who was Irene?

But such questions were pushed out of his mind when a cold thought crossed his mind. Where was he going to go home? He was taken away from the orphanage by the bad men. He doesn't want to go back there. They might give him back.

And he didn't want to be separated from Remy. Jaime now knew what he's going to be when he grows up. He's going to be just like Remy. And to do that, he has to be with him, right?

And Remy did say something about him being a pup and following him home. But he couldn't ask Remy that question because he was busy comforting Rogue.

"Your name is Jaime, correct?"

Jaime jumped as the bald-headed guy who was being supported by a man wearing weird-looking glasses talked to him. Jaime didn't like old guys. They reminded him of people who poked at him and gave him yucky medicines.

"Y-yes."  
  


"Would you like us to take you to your home?"

Jaime shook his head.

"Would you like to stay at our home, with Remy?"

Jaime's eyes looked hopefully at the bald guy. Then, he nodded his head slowly.

"Good." Bald guy smiled at him warmly. "Welcome to the X-Men, Jaime."

X-Men? What on earth did he get himself into now? But he decided that maybe bald guy wasn't as bad as he originally thought.

*

*

*

**~tbc**


	11. Preemptive Strike

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

*

Chapter 11 

*

She wasn't the prettiest _fille_ Remy ever saw. Far from it. You see, Remy had dated supermodels, beauty queens, and even actresses. All more beautiful and more glam than she was.

She wasn't even his type. Growing up, he was drawn towards the blond and the blue-eyed, the sweet and the seductive, the dangerous and the wild.

Not for the dark, sarcastic, and extremely witty.

Sometimes, personality was even optional for him.

And yet, it was she who held his dreams at night. It was she who he keeps coming back to. It was she who mattered.

He wanted to kiss her, that day in the cave. He wanted to so badly.

But he knew she wasn't ready.

And it surprised Remy that he hadn't taken advantage.

That was his first sign that what he had with this woman was more than just innocent flirtations.

She wasn't just any girl. She was _the_ girl. She was _his_ _chere_. 

But no.

She's not.

She's rogue.

But as fate would have it, as he was snooping around downtown, trying to get the layout of the place, planning his next heist, who would he see brooding on top of the tallest building but the object of his latest obsession?

"Roguey," he said smoothly as he walked up to her casually. "How are you doing?"

Rogue, whose gaze was focused upon the sight below, didn't even turn to acknowledge him. She merely shrugged.

"You've been missing school, _chere_," he told her as lightly as he could. It's been two weeks since the Trask fiasco. And since then, Rogue never went back to Bayville High, even as her teammates did. _Merde_, even pricipal Raven Darkholme was back.

"I'm not going back there," it was said with such finality that Remy found it easier not to argue with that. 

"And why not?" Remy asked. "Remy would think that his _chere_ had been avoiding him,"

Rogue turned to him, slowly. The hardness in her eyes slowly disappeared. A gloved hand reached for his cheek. "I'm not."

Remy covered the hand that was holding his cheek tenderly with his. "Then why?"

Rogue removed her hand and went back to looking at the sight below. "I've been busy," was the reply.

Remy frowned as he watched Rogue closely. Something was wrong with the way she was standing. Then he realized what it was. She was on alert. She wasn't looking down because of the view. She was looking for something. But before he could ask her about it, someone interrupted them.

"R-Remy!" A high-pitched, shrill voice stammered.

Rogue and Remy whipped around.

"Jaime," Remy groaned. "I thought I told you to wait for me in the diner." Ever since they took the young boy home, Jaime had taken to following him around. He had no objections to that, since it gave him more freedom to explore Bayville High. Jaime was the legitimate excuse he gave whenever he wanted to go out—legally. After all, no one would suspect him to be planning his next heist while babysitting a kid. However, he did dislike the interruption today.

But Rogue couldn't suppress a grin. The kid was just too adorable for words. Clad in an all-black ensemble enclosed by a brown trench, Jaime adjusted his glasses that looked suspiciously like Remy's. "Hey, sugah," she reached out and ruffled the boys hair.

"Roguey, no!" Remy cried out. But his warning came too late.

Two Jaimes blinked and stared adorably at Rogue. "'Allo, _chere_," the two said in unison, in a bad Cajun imitation.

Rogue burst out laughing. "You better stop hanging out with the Swamp Rat, sugah,"

"Swamp…"

"…Rat?"

Two pairs of brown eyes appraised Remy closely.

"It's a form of endearment, _petit_," Remy grinned at the boy. "_Ma chere_ couldn't help herself."

Rogue snorted. Then her communicator activated.

_"Roguey, you in place?"_

Rogue turned around and replied, lowering her voice so that Remy and Jaime wouldn't hear her. 

"Dear ol' dad wants us to meet in ten minutes. Quicksilver out." 

Rogue turned back to Remy and Jaime and looked at them apologetically. "Sorry guys, gotta go,"

But before Rogue can sweep up past the Cajun, his hand shot out and grabbed his arm. "_Chere_, what is ol' Buckethead up to?" He knew that the Brotherhood was up to something. Maybe he could get some clue and warn the professor.

Rogue gave him a smile that chilled his bones but would haunt his dreams for nights to come. "If I tell you that, then, I'll have to kill you."

Then, she leapt off the building.

Jaime shivered as she gazed at Rogue's flying form in adoration. "Wow."

And Remy couldn't help but agree.

*

*

*

All her life, Rosie Thorndale wanted to be a journalist. She wanted to be seen on television, delivering the events that had just happened around the world to thousands of people simultaneously. She wanted to experience first-hand the excitement of uncovering dark secrets, exposing scandals, and investigating mysteries. 

And now, after four years of hard work in college and three years of working her way up the national television station, all she was had was this.

She sighed.

She supposed that covering the latest session of the senate committee hearing on what had happened in the island of Genosha was an OK job. After all, it was anyone's guess what had happened with the partially government-funded research of Bolivar Trask. The soldiers say that it was an accident. Crime scene investigation says otherwise.

But she didn't become a reporter for this. She wanted to go into investigative reporting. She wanted to investigate the Genosha Island explosion, not report on people who are doing the investigative reporting. Unfortunately, all her boss saw was a pretty face, so she was relegated to anchor work which didn't involve anything remotely intellectually stimulating other than reading idiot boards.

She supposed it could be worse.

But, lordy, she hated politics.

She looked around, trying to hide her boredom. Observing people was a habit she trained herself in as a child. After all, a good journalist must have an eye for detail.

Soon, she saw a dignified old man walking down the corridors towards the entrance to the hall. That shouldn't have caught her attention particularly since dignified-looking men were a dime a dozen in that place. What had caught her attention was his entourage. 

Behind him glided two women, both beautiful, and dangerously so.

The one on the man's right side was decked in red. Was that red spandex she was wearing? The spandex was ripped in all the right places, exposing slivers of flesh. And to pull off the outfit was a red trench coat. Her dark hair contrasted sharply with her pale skin. Her earrings dangled enticingly just above her shoulders.

The first thing you would notice about the other woman was her hair—auburn with two distinctive white stripes. She was decked in an outfit almost identical with her companion, only this time, the spandex was black and the trench coat brown. Her green eyes glittered with malice. Rosie immediately knew that one doesn't mess with this girl and live to tell about it.

Behind the two women were two males, both ruggedly handsome. 

The brown-haired man just screamed bad boy. The man you dated just to get back at your father. The man good girls fall for.

And if she were to chose which one of the bunch she would like to cross in a dark, empty alley, it would have to be the guy with the purplish blue hair. His skin was pale, but he had a kind look about his face. She watched as he reached forward and touched the shoulders of the girl with the two-toned hair. He whispered something to her but she just nodded in reply. 

And bringing up the rear were two thugs. If Rosie was to be told that the four teens were the dignified men's children (differences in appearances notwithstanding), she would have said that the two men in the rear were their bodyguards.

One was big. Huge. Scary. She had no doubt that this guy could pick her up with his pinkie. He glared at anyone that so much as looks at him. 

The other guy was shorter. He had shaggy green hair. Bu he had this smirk upon his face that warned anyone that he is not afraid to play dirty. Given the right weapon, this guy looked like he would not hesitate to hurt and kill. He walked with a slouch and occasionally hopped whenever he would get left behind.

"Rosie! What on earth are you doing gaping there?" A voice snapped at her. "Start with the interviews!"

Rosie snapped out of her reverie. "Yes sir!"

*

*

*

Pietro zipped to his father's side after checking out the layout of the building. "All's according to plan," he grinned.

"Good." The man known to many as Magneto said. "Are the media in place?"

"Live international coverage through the news channel." Pietro nodded. "This is going to be fun,"

"What's the item on our agenda, Mr. Hewitt?" The senate president asked the man at the head of the long table. 

Cameras immediately panned to the man who holds the flow of the investigation.

The brown-haired man smiled rather sinisterly. "I have some friends that you might want to know," he said.

"You mean we would start to question the witnesses?" The senate president frowned. 

"You could say that," the man replied.

Then there was a commotion from the spectators. Screams and shouts caused the camera to pan towards the civilians. The cameraman's eyes widened at what he saw. He almost dropped the camera but his training as a media man compelled him to focus on what caused the commotion. Beside him, Rosie Thorndale gasped.

A man.

A man in a business suit was rising up in the air.

And then, pieces of metal began to float and make their way to the man. And slowly, they twisted and bent their shape until they resembled an armor. An armor which soon conformed itself to the man.

"I would like to introduce you to the world of mutants." The man, Mr. Hewitt, said as he stood up. Then slowly, he morphed into a woman, a blue-skinned woman.

*

*

*

Warm brown liquid spouted out of Scott's mouth.

"Like, ew!" Kitty grumbled. "That's gross, Scott!" She took a paper towel and started to wipe her skirt on the spots Scott's projectiles hit her.

Bobby laughed at the sight of their high and mighty leader spitting out his soda. His only complaint was that he wasn't the one who made Scott do that. It was the TV. His head swiveled to the ignored kitchen TV. They were watching the news, right?

Scott coughed a few times to dislodge the remaining liquid in his throat. "Professor!"

"He's psychic, Scott," Kitty rolled her eyes. "You don't have to shout."

"Ah!" Bobby's eyes widened. "Magneto!"

"What?" Kitty's eyes searched the room before she finally turned her attention to the TV. "Mystique!" She gasped.

*

*

*

People in the room began to panic. Some attempted to flee. But the main doors were blocked.

Blob crossed his huge arms. Beside him, Avalanche smirked malevolently, as if daring someone to  go through him.

"What is the meaning of this?" The senate president demanded. "Guards!"

The numerous uniformed guards all simultaneously drew their weapons. And turned it towards the senators.

The cameraman made a move to turn off his camera.

"Keep it rolling," Mystique commanded.

Trembling a little, he did what he was told.

"How long can you keep that up, Rogue?" The Scarlet Witch asked her friend who was concentrating hard to access Xavier's power.

Rogue merely shrugged.

While Rogue's job was to control the minds of the guards, the Witch's job was to protect her from harm.

"To the fire exit!" A man in the crowd screamed.

"I do not think so," a voice heavily accented said as he appeared in front of the fire exit in a puff of smoke.

People screamed at the sight of the yellow eyed blue demon.

A few brave souls ventured forward, only to be hit with green glob on the face.

"You freaks of nature!" 

"On the contrary," Magneto said as he floated to the center of the room. "We are the masterpieces of nature. We are the next step in humankind's evolution. We would like to formally introduce to the more advanced form of man, the _homo sapiens superior_."

*

*

*

"We're doomed." Evan groaned as he watched the news from the Blackbird. "Now the whole world knows."

Beside him, Bobby couldn't help but agree.

*

*

*

**~tbc**

A/N:

Sorry guys, I don't know how it is things work in the US Senate hearings so it's a bit sketchy/erroneous. 

Thanks to my reviewers ~**_thank you_**~. And to **Yumiko**, I use MS Word but save it as a Web type so the formatting errors are at a minimum. 


	12. Superiority Complex

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

*

Chapter 12 

*

"Why are we doing this?" A dejected voice thick with a German accent whispered in desperation.

Rogue frowned as her brother popped in next to her. Having subdued the people inside the hall, she had no need of controlling the armed guards. Disposing of the firearms through her magnetic power, she released the guards from her mental hold. They were quickly frightened into submission by Magneto.

"What?" She whispered to him, not wanting to steal Magneto's thunder while the elder mutant was raging on and on about mutant supremacy and all those stuff.

"Why are we doing this?" Kurt gestured helplessly to the scene before him—terrified men before a megalomaniac. 

"Good question, elf," she replied softly. 

Pietro was doing it for his father. He wanted acceptance from his dad so bad that he was willing to do everything in his power to do what Magneto commanded.

Lance was doing it for the glory. Rogue knew that out of the eight of the teens living in the Boarding House, Lance was the one who most believed in Magneto's cause.

Wanda was doing it because her continued alliance with her father ensures that her training with Agatha Harkness would continue. There's nothing in the world that Wanda wants more than control—over her powers, over her life.

Todd (who now insists on people calling him Toad) and Fred 'the Blob' Dukes, were doing it because for the first time in their lives, they were starting to belong. And they would fight tooth and nail to continue with what they have.

Rogue looked straight at her brother's eyes. She knew why he was doing it, even if he was not sure himself.

He was doing it for her—for his mother. _Their _mother.

Kurt craves for Mystique's attention, for her approval, for her love. He's afraid that if and when he refuses to do her bidding, she would turn her back on him.

Sweet, sensitive Kurt was out-of-place in the Boarding House, which was filled with cold, indifferent teens. And yet, he was willing to look the other way, to go against his gentle nature, to forget everything that he believed in, just for her. Just for Raven Darkholme. 

But what about herself, Rogue thought. Why was she doing this? Why does she care so much that Magneto succeeds in his cause? Why does she care at all?

For Irene.

For ensuring that no other mutant would suffer at the hands of another man again.

For protecting her own kind.

For revenge.

*

*

*

"Are we there yet?" Kitty called out.

Wolverine growled as he mentally willed the Jet to go faster. His claws were itching for one good fight.

"Hey, look!" Bobby cried out as he pointed on the monitor where Kurt and Rogue ported simultaneously on screen on either side of Magneto. 

The X-Men watched as Magneto said something inaudible to the siblings. The siblings nodded and ported away from the camera. 

"Looks like _ma chere_ finally absorbed her brother's powers," Remy muttered, soft enough that no one heard him.

"He's saying something!" Kitty said as she desperately searched for something to turn up the volume.

"Let me," Jean said as she turned it up using her powers.

A round of thanks were murmured as their attention was shifted on the TV.

_"Allow us to demonstrate our powers to you!"_ Magneto proclaimed on-screen. 

The camera panned from Magneto to show the entire room. On one side stood Rogue, Nightcrawler, Avalanche, Wanda, and two men who were holding portable cameras. 

Lance, to Kitty's and Remy's annoyance, placed a hand on Rogue's shoulder while his other hand was on the cameraman's. Then, the trio ported out.

Kurt held on to Wanda and the other cameraman, then ported out. 

"Where on earth do you they're going?" Scott groaned in frustration.

"Doesn't matter," Wolverine said. "We're here," he gestured outside where the Senate building stood, swarmed by policemen, FBI, Swat men, and military men.

*

*

*

_"Is everything in order, Quicksilver?"_

Pietro grinned to the phone he held in his ear. Right after Magneto's revelation of the wonderful world of mutants, he immediately ran to the news channel who was doing the live coverage of the supposed senate inquiry. 

He offered them live and exclusive coverage of what they were about to do and the top brass of the station happily obliged. They have never had any ratings as high as today, and they wanted to milk it for all its worth.

And they didn't even have to threaten them with Sabertooth, who stood sulking in a corner, deprived of his chance to come out and play.

"Of course, Mystique. They're just waiting for the live feed," Pietro told their second-in-command.

"We're receiving the first broadcast now," one of the producers cried out.

"Heard that, boss lady?" 

_"Yes. Good. Call me if anything interesting happens."_

"So how to we get in?" Kitty asked as she looked down from the hovering X-Jet to the building below. 

"How do we get in without us revealing we're mutants ourselves, you mean," Evan corrected her as bones protruded out of his body in an anticipation of a fight.

Wolverine growled as he contacted Xavier. The way he sees it, he should just go out there alone, slip through the seemingly impenetrable human-shield, and _neutralize_ those Brotherhood geeks one by one. Of course, ol' Chuckie might have other ideas. 

"It's Lance!" Kitty cried out as she once again pointed to the monitors. "They're outside a factory or something,"

"It's a factory for that sports drink," Scott frowned.

"Power8." Evan replied. "I always wanted to try one, but they pulled it out of the market before I could get my hands on one."

Scott's lips pursed. "Do you want to know why they pulled it out of the market?"

Evan looked at his team leader questioningly. 

"Professor X heard only rumors, but they said that Power8 contained stuff that would cause people to throw up and fell feverish for a day or so." Scott replied.

"Then it's a great thing that they pulled it out of the market before I could get my hands on one."

"But the real question is," Jean, who was co-piloting with Wolverine, spoke out for the first time. "What does Magneto want with a defective sports drink?"

*

*

*

"Start shooting," Lance told the scared, but determined to do his job well, cameraman. 

Taking a deep, calming breath, he nodded and pointed the camera towards Lance, hoping that the shaking of his hands wouldn't affect the way he shoots.

He had a wife and kid waiting for him at home. 

*

*

*

"For years and years we have hidden ourselves from the world," Magneto said. "But no longer. It's time to take what's rightfully ours. We no longer have to cower in fear of being discovered. It's time for revenge."

Then, the monitors set up in the hall started to show Lance and the Power8 factory.

Lance, who stood before the looming building, extended his arms. His eyes rolled back. And then, the earth trembled.

A ripple of fear went through the audience. Was it the young man who was doing that? Did he just command to earth to do his bidding?

As the earthquake on screen increases its intensity, the Power8 building started to shake. The workers inside, most of whom were unaware of what was happening, started to scream and pour out of the building.

Soon, the building crumbled like a sandcastle.

"Do you think everyone made it out alive?" The cameraman whispered to the beautiful woman with the two-toned hair beside him.

"I don't care." Came the cold, indifferent reply.

*

*

*

Right after the Lance Alvers show, Wanda came on screen. This time, she was before a small one-story infrastructure. A sign proclaiming the place to be a 'Genetic Facility' was hung at the top.

"Bring her down, baby." The cameraman, who thought mutants were cool, and he wanted to be one, said. Unlike the first cameraman, he didn't have a family to go home to.

Wanda shot a glare at the cameraman.

Then, she focused her attention to the building. And then, the hex bolts came.

The building didn't even have the chance. Slowly but surely, it crumbled down until nothing was left but ashes.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, no one was inside when that happened.

*

*

*

"What on earth are they doing?" Jean gasped as the second infrastructure fell down.

Wolverine growled. "Making a statement to the government." He said. "Charles believes that the facility that just went down is a government-funded mutant research center."

"And what about Power8?" Bobby asked.

"There were rumors that the drink was found to be detrimental to the lives of mutants." Jean said. "And it was also said that the company's owners sold the ingredients to government-funded facilities."

Kitty's eyes widened. "You mean the government knew about us?"

"Some of them." Was Wolverine's reply. 

"So it's like a conspiracy?" Bobby gushed. "Like aliens? Wow."

Wolverine's mouth thinned. He shudders at the naiveté of his so-called pupils. If they only knew even a fraction of what he actually knew…

"So what do we do now?" Evan asked.

"Chuck wants ol' Gumbo here to lead a select few of us inside." Wolverine said. 

"What?" Scott protested, unwilling to accept that the professor chose the cocky, undependable thief to lead this critical mission.

"He wants us to go in discretely," Jean said with her eyes closed, her mind linked with Professor Xavier.

"Discrete be Gambit's middle name," Remy said cockily as he swaggered to his feet. "As team leader, Remy gets to choose his team, _non_?"

Scott steamed.

"_Mademoiselle_ Pryde," the Cajun began.

Kitty giggled as she jumped to her feet.

"_Mademoiselle_ Grey," Remy continued. This time, he reached out a hand and helped Jean to her feet, furthering the annoyance of Summers.

Wolverine growled, unhappy with the prospect of the Cajun being left alone with the two women.

"Of course, if the Wolverine wants to go, then the Wolverine gets to go." Remy grinned charmingly at the elder man.

*

*

*

"_Mission accomplished._" The triumphant voice of Pietro announced through their communicators. 

Kurt and Rogue, with their entourage, ported back in as if on cue. 

"I warn you to think twice before you meddle with our kind." Magneto turned to the people. "We have made our point. It's time to go." With that, he rose up and drifted towards the exit.

The rest of the mutants followed. 

*

*

*

"Looks like we don't have to break in after all," Remy said as he gestured downwards.

"What?" Jean frowned.

She saw that the doors of the entrance to the senate building burst open. Out floated Magneto, followed by Mystique and the rest of the Brotherhood.

Hundreds of weapons were trained their way. Not to mention more than twenty tanks.

"It seemed as if I have not made my point across after all." Magneto said arrogantly.

A media helicopter hovered nearby and captured everything on tape.

 "FIRE!"

One gung-ho member of the local police force had suddenly fired his gun towards Mystique who was in front of him.

Thanks to her natural grace and agility, Mystique evaded to bullet easily.

And the bullet hit the person who was immediately behind Mystique. It was Blob. The bullet harmlessly bounced off his skin.

"What the hell are you?" The policeman cried out.

"Your worst nightmare," Toad replied. Then, he secreted a green goo from his mouth. It reached his target—the face of the policeman who had fired the gun.

The policeman twisted in panic, frantically trying to pull off the goo which had immediately hardened. He can't breathe!

"They done something to him!" One of the police near Toad's victim cried out as he tried to help removing the goop.

And that was all the provocation the government guys needed.

Immediately, guns went off. But before they could hurt anyone, the bullets froze in midair.

Rogue stood before the group, one hand outstretched. 

Wanda slowly walked to stand beside Rogue. She, too, stretched out her hands. Then one by one, the tanks on screen twisted and curved until it was nothing more than a ball of metal, the people inside barely having anytime to get out of the vehicle.

Then, Magneto held out both of his hands and then, the weapons held by the police, the FBI, and the soldiers were wrench out of their grip and turned to them. "Such a sorry waste."

With a flick of her hair, Rogue slowly brought down her hand. And like obedient dogs, the bullets fell harmlessly to the ground.

"I warn you. If one hair of any mutant gets hurt by any _inferior_ man, I would take it personally." Magneto told the men. "Believe me, you wouldn't want me to take anything personally." With that, he walked forward, unmindful that hundreds of armed men stood in his way.

But like the red sea, the men blocking their path parted, allowing them entry.

"Scott!" Jean cried out, seeing Toad's victim struggle in vain to breathe.

Wolverine had maneuvered the X-Jet as close as possible to the ground, the X-Men ready to intervene if anything happens.

Jean was mentally preparing herself to use her TK on the hundreds of guns. She didn't know if she would succeed. Fortunately, the situation that would force her to try hadn't come up.

But right now, it was all up to Scott.

"On it," Scott said as the door of the X-Jet opened. He kneeled down and aimed.

And aimed true.

A red beam from the heavens descended on earth, hitting the policeman's face which was covered with Toad's projectile. As it was hit, it cracked and released the man's face.

The policeman gratefully took in lungsful of breath. After making sure that he could breathe again, his face turned up to the heavens. "Thank you," he prayed with tears in his eyes.

Around him, the people wondered what on earth was that red beam.

*

*

*

"Turn that thing off!" Scott growled at Evan and Bobby.

The two, who were watching the evening news for a change, looked up at their team leader, puzzled. 

Since the events the day before, all the news was focused on Bayville and the mutants it had unwittingly housed. Friends and strangers were interviewed by the media, asking about the Brotherhood and their guardian, Erik Lensherr. Speculations were arising about Principal Raven Darkholme and Kurt Wagner, both of whom were connected to the mutant known as Rogue, both of whom lived in the Brotherhood Boarding House.

Through the night, there had been a grand total of six attempts to capture the mutants inside, all of which were complete and utter failures. 

The military couldn't seem to grasp the fact that there were now two masters of magnetism in the house, and no matter how advanced or how powerful the weapon, so long as it was made out of metal, it would never work on them. Of course, the fact that there was also a probability-manipulating witch inside complicated things much, much more. 

But so far, there were no casualties. The Professor had contacted Magneto. The latter had given his word that no blood would spill until and unless a mutant was hurt by a man. And he had kept his word so far.

At about dawn that morning, the President had made an address to the nation, asking them not to do anything more to aggravate the mutants of Bayville.

Erik Lensherr was invited to the White House. Of course, Professor Charles Xavier was also invited.

For now, an uneasy truce was called.

*

*

*

**~tbc**


	13. How To Deal

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

*

A/N: What has ff.net done to my spaces???? They deleted it! Now my story's just one whole mesh of words without changes of scenes!!! ARGH!

Thanks to **Phobia **who pointed it out. I swear I know how to separate scenes, I usually do it by putting in huge spaces in between paragraphs. Unfortunately, _something_ happened. So I had to reupload all chaps of this story. My other stories might take a while. =)

* Chapter 13 

*

*

*

"Is he insane? He wants us to do what?" Lance thundered out loud as the whole Brotherhood Boarding House shook in protest of the quivering earth.

"Watch it, saltshaker," Rogue grumbled as she snagged the cup of coffee that almost fell down the table.

"Magneto wants you to go back to Bayville High." Was Mystique's calm reply. "All of us."

"After all we've done?"

"All we did was to show the world who we truly are," Wanda told him.

"Yeah and bring down two buildings." Kurt added helpfully.

Todd snickered. "And illegally hold in detention all the senators and about a hundred civilians."

"And ruin military property." Pietro smirked. "And vehicles. Tanks, even."

"Oh, man! They're going to hate us for sure!" For some twisted reason, Todd found that particularly funny.

A thought struck Kurt. If they hated them, then wouldn't they try to hurt the ones they love most? "Mother, are you sure my family is OK?" Kurt asked, referring to the adoptive parents he left in Germany.

"Of course." Mystique replied brusquely. "You had just talked with them last night." She said with just a touch of irritation.

"_Ja_." Kurt replied. "But I couldn't help being worried, you know."

"I'm not going back to school," Lance crossed his arms defiantly. 

"Spoken like a true three-year old," Pietro sneered.

"Shut up, Pietro," Wanda snapped.

"What about her?" Lance gestured towards Rogue.

"What about me?" Rogue growled low in her throat.

"If you're not going then I'm not going."

"Let me put it this way," Rogue gave him a dark smile. "After everything we did, there are only two places you'll ever see your pretty Kitty—in school and in your dreams."

*

*

*

"What are you doing, _chere_?" Remy asked smoothly as one of his arm snaked around a thin waist, while another flirtatiously toyed with a lock of hair, _her_ hair. "Trying to develop x-ray vision?"

"Sugar, if I needed x-ray vision, I'll just go out and steal it myself," Rogue replied as she adjusted her position to look at the teenaged thief blatantly flirting with her.

"So why are you squinting so hard?" He persisted as he released the white hair coiled around his index finger.

Rogue shook her head.

Remy craned his neck to get a view of what Rogue was looking at. "You're spying on your brother and his girlfriend?" He asked in disbelief. 

Rogue glared at him. "I was not spying!"

"Whatever you say, cher." Remy smirked as he pulled the southern lady closer towards him. "Remy missed you," he murmured softly as he buried his face in her hair. "Welcome back to school."

Rogue playfully elbowed him on the gut before weaseling out of his embrace. "And what a welcome it was," she said with a smirk, fully facing the Cajun.

"Not _our_ fault half the school isn't here, _cher_." Remy replied good-naturedly as he leaned his frame against the wall, enabling himself to view the woman before him fully.

"Half?" Rogue raised an eyebrow. "I estimate that just a quarter of the school population showed up," she shrugged. "Most people are terrified of the mutant hysteria."

Remy crossed his arms. "Why did you have to do that?"

Immediately, the good humor left Rogue's face, to be replaced by a sardonic smile. Her gaze returned to her brother and his girlfriend. "Humans need to learn where their place in the world is," she muttered so softly that Remy thought that he misheard.

"So what now?" Remy asked as he took a step towards the Southern girl.

Rogue gave him a smile that can only be described as evil. "It's your move, sugar," she said sweetly. "You're the good guys. We do something bad, then it's up to you to fix 'em." With that, she turned around and walked away, leaving Remy chuckling to himself.

*

*

*

Mystique, as Principal Raven Darkholme, smiled to herself as she shuffled the papers on her desk. 

The media had been in overdrive since the Brotherhood had revealed themselves to the world. Worldwide, people were stepping forward and admitting themselves to be mutants—actors, politicians, musicians, businessmen, lawyers, even doctors.

The whole world was in a state of paranoia. But to be a mutant was to be in. 

Magneto's show of strength and power had cowed the rest of the world—anyone who hurts a mutant deals with the master of Magnetism himself. The effortless way that Magneto and the Brotherhood crushed the US army convinced everyone that crossing them would not be a wise idea.

If an elderly man, a woman, and seven teens can defeat the best and the brightest of the US defense system, then how could the whole world far against the powers of all the mutants combined?

Humming softly to herself, Mystique found the piece of paper she was looking for. A report from one of her scouts from the White House. Not surprisingly, the place was in uproar. Mystique scanned the report. It was fun to anticipate what the President would do during their period of peace. Of course, just because there was a truce between them doesn't mean that her Brotherhood would sit back idly.

Already, she had asked Agatha Harkness to redouble the efforts in training Wanda. 

Sabertooth had been commanded to lead the training sessions that night with Toad and Blob.

Magneto himself would supervise the training of Nightcrawler and Quicksilver.

Avalanche would be out tonight to recruit a new mutant one of Magneto's moles heard about.

And as to Rogue…Mystique's smile widened. She had something special planned for her Rogue that night.

*

*

*

"I always thought something was off about her," Taryn shuddered as Rogue walked past their lunchroom table. "I mean, just look at her hair!"

Jean's eyes followed the path the Southern belle traveled. 

"Mutant freaks," co-football player, Amber, muttered in agreement. "My mom wants me to stay at home, but my dad said that he would first be damned before he lets those freaks ruin everything he worked hard for," the last statement was made in a cautious whisper. 

Taryn nodded. "Well, my dad said that they had been here for a long time and hadn't hurt us any, so there's no reason that they'd start now." She grimaced. "But I still don't trust them."

"But I can't believe Pietro's one of them," Amber groaned. "I mean, his sister, that's understandable! But Pietro?" She sighed  deeply. "What a waste, right Jean? Jean?" Amber waved a hand directly in front of Jean's face when the redhead failed to answer. "Hello? Earth to Jean?"

"Huh?" Jean snapped out of her reverie. "Oh. Yeah. You're absolutely right." 

Amber and Taryn looked at Jean weirdly for a moment then returned to their conversation.

"At least Remy's still available." Taryn said.

"Haven't you heard?" Amber asked. "He's going out with that Rogue now."

"But that was before he learned she was a freak. Now that it's out in the open, he'll be sure to dump her!"

Amber giggled. 

"Uh, you know what, guys, I forgot something in my locker. I'll just catch up with you later," Jean stood up and hurried away.

"What's up with her?" Amber asked.

Taryn shrugged. "I think she also had a thing for Remy."

*

*

*

"So, you're just going to sit there and listen to them trash-talk us?" 

Jean gasped when she turned a corner and saw Rogue lounging against the wall, seemingly waiting for her. Her eyes widened. "You were eavesdropping on us?"

"As if I don't have anything better to do with my time," Rogue rolled her eyes. She touched her left ear briefly. "Mr. Wolverine left me a few presents,"

"They don't understand us that's why they're thinking that way," Jean defended her friends.

"And I can just hear you explaining to them the way things are," Rogue glared at the telepath.

"Oh, and your way is much better?" Jean demanded, her voice rising. "Go out and scare the world into acceptance of our kind!"

"You know what they say, sugar," Rogue told her with an infuriating smirk. "It is better to be feared than loved."

"You give mutants a bad name. Instead of them accepting us, they'd just resent us more!"

"I refuse hide who I truly am anymore." Rogue told her in all seriousness. "If you want to continue deceiving your so-called friends into thinking that you're one of them, that's your choice. But I won't hold myself back for their sake anymore. I'm done hiding." With that, Rogue stalked away.

Jean took a deep, calming breath as she slumped against the wall. Rogue was right. She was hiding herself from the world. She was denying who she truly was. The only time she can relax and be herself was in the Institute. But when she was in the real world, she keeps a bit of herself hidden, tucked away. At the back of her mind, she couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, Magneto and his Acolytes had done mutantkind a favor.

Jean shook her head vigorously, as if doing so would help her banish the traitorous thoughts in her mind.

She remembered how Storm looked after she was rescued from Trask's facilities. She remembered the stories Beast recounted about his experience with the genetic scientists. She remembered the memories Professor Xavier shared with her.

But most of all, she remembered Mystique.

The way her eyes hardened and suddenly blanked out when she whipped out her gun and shot Trask.

She remembered Trask, who cowered in fear in the last moment of his life.

She remembered the way he looked as life slowly drained from him.

She remembered his eyes. The fear, the horror, the acceptance. 

Jean shook her head once more.

No.

The ends would never justify the means.

Just as it wasn't their fault that they were born mutants, it also wasn't the people's fault they were born without the X-gene.

It was all a matter of chance in the genetic whirlpool.

Yes, she wanted to stop hiding.

But the price Magneto was offering for her freedom to be herself was too high.

The time would come when she could be herself without fear or persecution.

But forcing herself on them was not the answer.

She believed in Professor Xavier's dream.

And she would fight hard for that dream.

For herself.

For her friends.

For her family.

For all of mutantkind.

*

*

*

"Ready?" Avalanche, who was piloting Magneto's newly-acquired heli-jet, sneaked a glance at the woman who was opening the side door.

Rogue sneaked a glance downwards and saw nothing but darkness. She would take a plunge and not even see anything while falling down. The absence of the moon ensured that. But she gave her pilot a thumbs-up sign. "Thanks for givin' me a lift, sugar," she called out. Decked in an all-black bodysuit, her hair tied in a neat, bouncy ponytail, she looked like one of those actresses in TV and movies who were playing the role of an undercover agent. The only difference was, Rogue ain't acting, she ain't playing a part. She was the real thing. Blowing him a kiss, Rogue stepped out and tumbled to the ground below. Ever the gentlewoman, Rogue closed the door with her magnetic power even in mid-drop. 

Lance snorted and shook his head. _Show-off_, he thought affectionately. 

But he had his own mission to think about. Squaring his shoulders, he pressed the button that would enable the vehicle to travel thrice faster than the speed of sound, accelerating from zero to a thousand in a blink of an eye.

He arrived in his destination in minutes. Maneuvering his craft to land in a middle of a isolated woodland, Lance fervently wished that the mission be over and soon. Recruiting mutants were never his strong suit. 

Lance glanced at his watch for the tenth time in the last half-a-minute. He was getting worried and restless. He followed Magneto's instructions to the letter, didn't he? He was on time, right? He even arrived at the rendezvous point five minutes before the time agreed upon! Wait! What if by arriving five minutes earlier, he scared off the other guy? What if he was supposed to arrive at midnight on the dot and not a second before or after? What if—

"G'day, mate!"

*

*

*

**~tbc**


	14. Mission X

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

*

A/N: 

We had a holiday last Wednesday so I had time to go over this story. Imagine my horror when I read back and discovered that I had a lot of plot holes and what-nots. But I decided to keep the stuff as is until summer vacation or someone complains, whichever comes first. Yep. That's how lazy I am. =) Well, it was either that or answer reviews. I'd much rather answer reviews! It's been a while since I did that. ;)

Can I just say that I'm a bit intimidated at the way people were anticipating Pyro's entrance? It made me think twice about writing him in. I'll try my best, though, but I'm not promising anything.

* Chapter 13 

*

*

*

Rogue fell from the heavens headfirst at a death-defying speed. 

And she never felt more alive. 

She sees nothing, there was only darkness. The wind howling drowned out any other sound. Her skin was numbed by the biting cold.

And she knew that the ground was fast-approaching.

For a moment she contemplated not cushioning her fall, to let herself fall onto the ground. 

But only for a moment. She has a mission to accomplish.

Now is not the time for such foolish contemplations.

Rogue's eyes shifted from her usual emerald until it became yellow, the eyes of the devil. The eyes of her brother. Rogue grinned. Eyes that would enable her to see in the dark.

Extending her hand above her head, she accessed her telekinetic powers to slow down her descent. Slowly, she righted herself up so that her lower extremities would be closer to the ground. She hovered above and saw her target close below. 

Landing on the ground gently, she pondered on her best course of action. 

Stealthily approaching a wall, she activated her magnetic powers and deactivated a security camera. That bought her a few precious seconds before someone comes and checks that out. 

Rogue knew that touching the wall was out of the question, it was laced with electricity. Using her magnetic powers would raise suspicion, especially since one of the security cameras was out. She can't use her telepathic powers to fly upwards because she would be seen. She can't use Kurt's porting abilities because she doesn't know the place from the inside. 

A slow smile appeared on her lips. 

*

*

*

"The Brotherhood is on the move!" Cyclops announced as he and the X-Men ran towards the hangar. 

Evan yawned as he tried to keep up. "And we know this, how?"

"Professor X has his sources," came Jean's reply.

"Wait!" Bobby halted suddenly. "Where's Kitty?"

*  
*

*

Rogue slowly phased through the wall. She smirked as she remembered how she stole Shadowcat's powers earlier that night.

*

"Don't you have somewhere else to be, Alvers?" Rogue groaned when she saw Lance's shadows fall on her.

Lance cursed. He tried to be discreet in following Rogue around, but he should've known that Rogue would see him. He revealed himself from his hiding place and crouched down next to Rogue. "Heard you were going to borrow other powers,"

"A little thieving skills might come in handy in my mission later." Rogue replied. "And I've been itching to get my hands on some phasing powers," she admitted.

Groaning, Lance playfully tapped Rogue's shoulders. "I knew it." 

Rogue smirked. "Here to save your Pretty Kitty?"

"No." Lance replied, knowing better than to defy Magneto or Mystique. "Just here to make sure you don't take more than you have to."

"Worried about Gambit, Avalanche? Something you wanna tell me?"

"Shut up."

"Here," Rogue thrust a red-colored helmet in Lance's hands.

"Mag's helmet?" Lance frowned. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I kid you not, Alvers." Rogue replied. "If you want to go inside with me, wear that so the good professor won't detect us."

Grumbling protests, Lance did what he's told. "I feel like a geek."

"You think the helmet you wear with your uniform is cool?" Rogue chuckled. 

"What about Wolverine?" Lance asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Went out earlier. Probably to bash in a few skulls in bars." Rogue frowned and cursed.

"What?"

"Just did a mind scan. Gumbo's not in there."

"He's probably out knocking back a few stiff drinks."

"That's probably not the only thing he's knocking up," Rogue muttered.

"Missing him already?" He teased.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "He wishes. C'mon, Saltshaker, time to go."

"So how do we get in?" 

Rogue pointed upwards.

And before Lance could react, a telekinetic ball had picked him and Rogue and raised them upwards.

"Which one's Kitty's room, lover?" Rogue asked.

"How should I—" at Rogue's disbelieving look, Lance blushed. "Second floor, the one with the pink curtains."

"Thanks." Rogue maneuvered them both outside the said window. Using her magnetic powers, she opened the window. "After you, sugar."

Lance climbed in the window and his breath got took away.

Sleeping soundly on the bed, was Kitty. She looked more innocent, more beautiful, more fascinating than ever. Lance felt his protective instinct take over. He had to throttle the overwhelming urge to stop Rogue from her plans. 

But he didn't for various reasons.

One, it was never a good idea to cross Magneto, not even in the name of true love.

Two, even in his wildest dreams, he didn't think he think he could stop Rogue.

Rogue made her way to the sleeping girl. She half-expected Lance to stop her, but when he didn't, she let out a sigh and touched the girl's face.

*

A triumphant smirk was on her face when she stood on the other side. But her mission was only beginning.

*

*

*

"G'day mate!" An insanely cheerful greeting which was horribly out of place in the wooded area of Australia, jolted Lance out of his reverie. 

Lance resisted the urge to clench at his heart as he whirled around to face the person who had intruded on his space.

Before him stood a lanky guy who looked just a bit older than he his. He was wearing this glaring orange shirt and green Bermuda shorts, his feet decked in brown sandals. But more than his clothes, what made the guy stood out was his orange hair and his insane smirk that made him look like he just escaped from the loony bin.

"St. John Allerdyce?" Lance asked hesitantly, and he found himself wishing that the guy's answer would be no.

"Got it in one, mate." The smirk just got bigger and crazier. "You must be Avalanche."

What on earth was Magneto thinking? "Uh, I'm here to take you to New York," Lance said slowly, afraid that any sudden moves might make the guy flare-up into an insane fit.

"I know that!" He announced cheerfully as he shook the neon green backpack that was hoisted on his back.

Lance looked at the bag in horror. How he missed that when he assessed the Australian was beyond him. He shouldn't have bothered landing the heli-jet. He should've just cruised above and there was no way he would've missed this colorblind freak! "Well, follow me, then."

*

*

*

"What on earth was Avalance doing in Australia?" Kitty frowned as they headed back to Bayville, feeling a bit guilty. The team had lost precious minutes because they took so long in waking her up, which puzzled her. She was normally a light sleeper, waking up at the slightest sound. She must be more tired than she thought.

And her lingering in bed had cost them. They had arrived in the designated place just as Lance was flying back. But she was glad that whatever Lance seem to be doing, he didn't exactly bring the whole anti-mutant force against him. It seemed to be a hush-hush mission.

"It's alright, Kitty." Jean smiled at her comfortingly. "I'm sure it's nothing." That was a lie, and everyone knew it. These days, everything the Brotherhood did was calculated and planned. Nothing was nothing when it comes to them.

Which brings them back to the question. Why were they in Australia?

*

*

*

Lance was grumbling as he sat down on the dining table and scanned the newspaper that Mystique had left there earlier. He cursed the fact that even if he had a mission early that morning and barely had enough sleep, he still had to go to school. He decided that he cannot be both a student and a terrorist at the same time. At least Mystique, as school principal, can catch a few catnaps later whenever she wanted to.

Minutes later, Rogue wandered into the dining hall looking dazed. She, too, had a late night, or early morning. But that was not the actual reason she was walking like a teenaged zombie right now. "Was that—" hands futilely gestured towards the kitchen.

"Uh-huh." Lance replied without batting a lash as he turned the page of his newspaper. 

"But that was—" her hands articulated what her words could not as he arms motioned something large.

"Yup." Lance recrossed his legs as he read the results of the latest basketball game.

"Did you—"

"Rogue." Lance put down the paper he was reading. "You live in a house filled with mutants. Deal with it."

Rogue glared at him as she plopped down the chair beside Lance.

Lance shook his head a little as he turned his attention back to the newspaper.

He actually enjoyed peace and quiet before Kurt ported in.

"There's this fire chick cooking breakfast in the kitchen!" He announced excitedly. "Was that the mutant you picked up last night?" He asked Lance.

"Nope. He's a guy." Lance replied.

"Hey, ya'll!" Todd hopped in. "What's burning in the kitchen?"

"Probably breakfast," Wanda replied as she sauntered in behind Todd.

"New guy insisted he make breakfast today," Lance shrugged.

"But a _girl_'s cooking!" Kurt insisted. "A fire girl."

"So the new guy can turn himself into a fire girl?" Todd asked in confusion. "That's his powers?"

Lance muttered something about colorblindness before giving a startled yelp which caused him to fall off his chair. 

"What's wrong?" Rogue asked as she helped him up.

"My newspaper spontaneously combusted." He grumbled.

"Enough of the paper, mate. It's time for breakfast!" A cheerful voice heavy with the Australian accent announced.

Five heads looked up and saw the new guy standing at the door, holding a pan in his hand, a _burning_ pan.

"Wow." Todd grinned as he hopped into his usual seat. "Just like in 'em fancy  restaurants." 

"St. John Allerdyce at your service," he announced as two women made of fire walked in behind him, each holding pans the contents of which were also burning. "Breakfast is served!"

"Uh, thanks." Rogue looked dubiously at what St. John had placed on her plate. A charred something. "Isn't this a bit well done?"

The two fire girls did the same with the plates of Lance, Kurt, Todd, and Wanda before placing the pan down on the table and disappearing.

"That's the idea, shiela." He grinned at her as if she just awarded him with a million dollars.

"No thanks," Lance said. "I'm vegetarian." 

"Since when?" Wanda asked as she stabbed the charred meat on her plate with a fork. 

"Since now."

Kurt turned green at the thought of eating that, that, whatever that was! "Look at the time!" He announced as he ported out of his chair. "Thanks for breakfast man," he clutched St. John's hand in his own and shook it. "The name's Kurt. Love to stay for seconds, but I have to pick up my girlfriend."

"You're picking up Amanda?" Rogue asked with a frown.

"Yup. See you, _schwester_!" With that, he ported off.

"Chicken," Wanda muttered.

"It's good, yo!" Todd announced happily as he forked in more of the charred stuff in his mouth.

"Right." Lance grumbled, unwilling to take the words of a guy who goes out and eats flies all day.

"The name's Rogue." She smiled at the new guy who took the seat her brother just vacated. Rogue looked just a tad green when she saw the guy eat the burned food with a relish. "That over there's Wanda and there's Todd."

"Hey-slowpokes-gotta-go-see-ya!" A whirlwind had circled the dining hall once and when it disappeared through the front door, the food on Rogue's plate was gone. 

"That was Pietro. You'll get to see him normally later." Wanda added.

"What happened to my kitchen?" A deep, loud voice bellowed. 

"And that's Fred. He's the resident cook. Bit territorial when it comes to the kitchen." Todd chimed in. "Big as a house. Has super strength and invulnerability."

"You may want to run now." Rogue grinned at him playfully.

St. John paled. What has he got himself into?

*

**~tbc**

*

*

*

P.S.

Thanks who reviewed Chapter 13!

**Taz9** - I try my best to update once a week, but with finals looming we have make-up classes all around, so my schedule's a bit insane. But don't worry, I intend to stick to this fic 'till the end. Hope you do, too!

**This is s e x** – thanks. This fic is my baby, my favorite among my XME fics. =) glad you liked it too.

**Rogue4787** – Oi! I can feel the Pyro pressure! I'll try my best to bring out the pycho in our fave pyromaniac. Though I haven't expressly wrote it, hope I didn't disappoint with Rogue's mission.

**Ishandahalf** – sorry I haven't been able to review your fic! Rest assured that I followed it to the last chapter, even had you on author alert. Just can't get off my lazy butt to review. And that was one Smashing ending, I must say. =) Looking forward to more works from you!

**Lady Starlight so kiss my ass** – I am so horribly tempted to say that it isn't Pyro, not because I didn't like the guy but  because I was horribly intimidated by the high expectations of him. Hmmm. Makes me wanna go out and read some Pyro fics, preferably one with Wanda in it. Don't like him very much with Princess Amara…Anyway, thanks!

**Caliente** – hey girl! First of all where's the next installment of your mutant diaries! I've waited and waited and waited and…well, you get the picture. Anyway, I always look forward to your reviews coz I get a lot of feedback from them. Anyway, as to the Rogue-Remy thing, well, they aren't dating yet, but they're into that touchy-feely flirtation stage. Well, at least Remy is. Then again, when is he not? And Rogue's into the stage where she's not getting any homicidal thoughts whenever Rem's touching her, or groping her. Whatever. Did I clear that up or did I just make you more confused? That's ok. Those two confuse me too. 

**Blink182dbzluver** – thanks. You rock too. =) for you, I'll do my best to update at least once a week.

**Star-of-Chaos** – I don't know about the Pyro mayhem, but I did try my best. Hope it was OK.

**Natural** – Are Pyro and Gambit going to be friends? Still don't know the answer to that one. I'll talk to my muses. We'll figure something out. But they are on opposing teams so it's going to take a bit of maneuvering for them to get to that point. But you never know…

**Cheers Darlin** – thanks. Another Pyro fan, eh? So here's more, hope you like it. 

**Bad-girl4** – I really wonder who's hotter, Remy or St. John, I mean, if he wasn't insane and stuff. Then again, who says anything about Remy being sane?


	15. Revelations

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

*

A/N: 

In case anyone noticed, I've been blending in elements from the comics, from Evo, and from the movie in this fic. Hope you don't mind. =)

* Chapter 15 

*

*

*

A casual observer wouldn't have seen anything but a blur of red and black. He was so fast that he was almost invisible. No one would notice his arrival if not for the rumbling hum the powerful machine emitted. 

But it doesn't matter if he could be seen. It doesn't matter if he could be heard. 

For there was no one to witness his plight.

Save for three hovering helicopters nearby.

He was a hunter. 

He was born that way, gifted with the advanced sensory organs that only the most powerful predators possess. 

He was trained that way, both my men, by machines, by nature, and by himself.

He had lived that way, for as long as he can remember.

He was a hunter. His memories may be taken away from him, his past may be murky, his intentions may be questioned, but he will always be a hunter.

Not the hunted.

With a feral growl, he easily dodged the volley of bullets that one of the helicopters above fired. 

Never the hunted.

Without warning, he veered his motorcycle to fishtail. He was now facing the helicopters.

Claws shot out both of his hand, as if in challenge to the huge machines. His sharp eyes made out the insignia painted on one of the choppers.

Either they were getting soft, or they were out to get him alive.

Those guys were never supposed to miss.

Slowly, one of the choppers descended.

And out stepped a man.

"Patch."

*

*

*

Remy's eyes narrowed into intimidating slits as he discretely watched his surroundings. His eyes were made more intimidating by the fact that his image-inducer, which was on the fritz, was not turned on. However, it was hidden behind his dark-colored glasses.

"Hey, Rem." A honeyed voice greeted him as a pretty brunette plopped down his table. "Nice day to eat outside, huh?"

Remy tore his attention away from what had beholden his attention to turn to the girl. "Amber, right, _chere_?"

The girl beamed and nodded enthusiastically. She then turned to what Remy was previously staring at. _Ugh_. "They should be banned from attending school forever." She grumbled as she took out a brown paper bag, which contained her lunch, from her bag.

"Who?"

Amber gestured towards where Rogue was standing a few meters away. She was with the new senior who was becoming notoriously known in the school for his fiery hair and close-to-insane personality. There was a betting pool as to whether or not he was a mutant too. 

The guy was in the middle of telling a story, using both words and exaggerated hand gestures. Rogue's laughter carried to their table seconds later. 

"Those mutant freaks." Amber said with a dramatic sigh. "Rogue never told you she was a mutant, huh? And I just bet that the guy with her's a mutant too."

Remy, who was not in the best of moods to begin with, came up with a decision. "Care to reconsider your statement, _chere_?" He asked as he slowly pulled down his glasses.

Amber gasped. "You—" she stuttered. "You're—"

"A mutant freak." He confirmed as he slipped the glasses back on.

*

*

*

"I can't believe you did that in Mr. McCoy's class!" Rogue said as her laughter quieted abated a bit. "On your first day too!" The furry blue mutant had revealed himself to be one immediately after Magneto's revelation, apparently to counteract the fast-growing reputations of mutants to be evil megalomaniacs. Raven Darkholme had no choice but to allow him to return to Bayville, not wanting to set a precedent for mutant discrimination.

"Rogue!" Kurt ported between Rogue and St. John, unmindful of watchful eyes. "I need to talk to you!"

"Well, sheila, it's been nice talking to you!" St. John cheerfully said as he waved good bye to her. He playfully ruffled Kurt's fur under his hologram. 

"Ack! I have a date tonight!" Kurt protested as he struggled out of the red-head's reach.

"Tonight?" Rogue asked as after John walked away. "Don't we have training tonight?"

"That's what I want to talk to you about." He sighed dejectedly. "Can you cover for me tonight? You see, Amanda's been feeling neglected lately and—"

"So you're going to miss practice just for _her_?" Her eyes had narrowed into slits.

"What do you mean 'just for her?'" Kurt frowned. "She's my girlfriend!"

"I know that."

"So why the tone?"

"What tone?"

"The tone that said that she isn't worth missing practice for," Kurt replied. "You didn't mind me missing practice in the past, _schwester._ In fact, you used to cover for me all the time. What's the difference now?"

"Nothing." 

Kurt was quiet for a moment. "And lately, Amanda was saying that you've been avoiding her. I told her that's just silly, but now, I'm beginning to wonder."

"I don't have anything against her." Rogue crossed her arms defiantly. "It's just that lately you've been slacking off in practice."

Kurt crossed his arms too. "And lately you've been addicted to them." He peered at his sister closely. "Tell me, _schwester_, how many people have you absorbed since yesterday?"

"One." Came the quick reply.

Kurt raised disbelieving eyebrows.

"Alright, two." 

Kurt wiggled his eyebrows.

"Fine. Three. Mastermind, Shadowcat, and some army guy." Rogue uncrossed her arms but placed them at her waist. "And I'm not addicted. It's just that I feel that I'm so close to controlling my powers now." 

"Why the urgency?"

"Kurt!" Rogue threw her hands upwards. "You of all people should know that I always wanted to control my powers!"

"Right. And why are you acting all obsessed all of a sudden? What changed?"

"Nothing!"

"And does this nothing talk with a Cajun accent?" He smirked.

"No way!"

"So why is my _schwester_ sneaking glances to the lunch table over there?" Kurt gave a victorious grin as he gestured to the table where the Cajun in question was eating lunch with one of the cheerleaders.

"I have not!" She protested, turning red.  
  


Kurt dropped the grin and sighed when he saw the cheerleader lean over and touch Gambit's bare arm. For once, the infuriating Cajun was without his brown duster. "Be careful with him, Rogue. I don't think he's one of those faithful ones_, ja_? But at least, he's an improvement over the torch you held for _Herr_ Summers." He said seriously, but the twinkle in his eyes gave him away.

Rogue's jaw dropped open. "I'm not—" she choked out. "He's not—" she tried again. "But—" she turned more and more reddish. "Argh!" She threw up her hands in confusion. "Stop turning the tables, Kurt!" She cried out. "This is about you and your missing training, not about me and my non-existent love life!" 

"I know. So you'll cover for me, _ja_?" Without waiting for an answer, he ported off.

"Argh!" Rogue groaned. "Kid brothers!"

*

*

*

Amber leaned forward, as if to get a closer look, but Remy had already covered his eyes with the glasses. "Wow." She breathed. Far from being repulsed, Amber actually felt more turned on. His eyes…Red on black…Sinfully beautiful…

But those eyes have turned away from her and went back to the woman with the two-toned hair.

Remy visibly relaxed when he saw that carrot-top was no longer with Rogue. Instead, Rogue was now walking to her brother.

A hand touched his bare arm which was on the tabletop. "Remy," a breathy voice interrupted Remy's reverie. "Your eyes," Amber smiled as sexily as she could. "They're like," she paused for dramatic effect. "Wow."

Remy frowned. "Don't think I'm a mutant freak?" He bit out.

Amber shook her head. "It's very seductive."

Remy gave a grin that melted Amber's bones. "Thanks, c_here_." He leaned over until his mouth was hovering near her ear. "See you later." With that, Remy stood up in disgust and walked away.

*

*

*

"Ah, Logan, it's nice to see you again." A middle aged man with a patch over his eye bravely walked forward to meet the half-man, half-beast before him. 

"What do you want, bub? I ain't in the mood for a tea party so better make it quick." Wolverine growled out even as he retracted his claws.

"We need answers." The man known in elite espionage circles as Nick Fury, cut to the chaste, knowing Logan's impatience well enough. "There was a break-in in the SHEILD headquarters last night."

"You must be getting soft in your old age, Patch." Logan snorted. 

Fury grinned at Logan's affinity for nicknames, but he immediately lost his smile. "Either that or we're up against someone very, very good."

Logan's interest was stirred, as Fury knew it would.

"Left no trace. No nothing. If not for the erased files on known mutants—"

Logan growled. "You were keeping files on known mutants?"

"Not my idea, Logan." Fury said, unconcerned by the rage that suddenly burned in his companion's eyes. "But yes, we have been keeping files on mutants. Just some act of self-preservation. They'd rather know what we're up against."

Logan had a lot of objection to that, but he held his tongue, and his temper, and motioned for Fury to continue.

"If not for the deleted files, we never would have known that there was a break-in."

"Inside job?"

Fury shook his head. "One of the perimeter cameras shorted out around midnight last night. Sometimes that happens so we didn't think much of it. The walls surrounding the base were wired with electricity. The inside's peppered with motion detectors, not to mention traps. There were guards every where, would've seen if someone flew in. Nobody saw, heard, or suspected a thing. We're thinking whoever broke in is either an extraordinary genius or most probably—"

"A mutant." Logan finished. "One that's quiet as a ghost."

"One with extraordinary hacking abilities. Our computer system's no lightweight either." Fury said. "We can check our files but, you know."

"Yeah. Your security screwed up."

"Can you think of someone who's talented enough to pull the job off?" 

Logan dug into his pockets and came up with two cigars. "I can actually think of four." He offered one to the man before him.

"Want to know something, Logan?" Fury asked.

Logan shrugged.

"I was inside the computer lab all night." He confessed. "Didn't see a thing."

Logan gave a quiet growl. "You just narrowed my choices down to two."

*

*

*

"_'Allo_, _chere_," Remy bowed down with a dramatic flourish, captured Rogue's gloved hand when he came up, and kissed her knuckles. 

"Knock it off, LeBeau." Rogue rolled her eyes at the Cajun's theatrics as she pushed him off and strode away. "Not in the mood,"

"Well, _chere_," Remy grabbed her arm and spun her around so that they were once again face to face. He gave her an infuriating smirk. "What are you in the mood for?"

Rogue refused to acknowledge the Goosebumps that struck her flesh when she heard Remy's playfully suggestive tone. "Not for you, that's for sure,"

"Really? Then please explain to Remy why his _chere_ kept sneaking glances at him while he's eating lunch?" 

Rogue's mouth fell open. 

Remy grinned as he gently maneuvered Rogue into a bench that was just vacated. "Remy's going back to the Big Easy soon, _chere_." He said, suddenly serious.

"What?" Rogue's eyes widened. "When?" She hated the slightly panicked tone in her voice but she couldn't help it.

And then she felt it, this unbelievable ache that tugged at the corners of her heart and slowly started spreading in her. There was this grief that threatened to overwhelm her. It was different from the grief that numbed her when Irene died, grief which she thought she had under her control. 

Why would she feel pain because she was leaving? Was it because she would loose another one of her few friends? Or because of something else entirely? 

Rogue gave herself a mental shake. Now is not the time or the place to analyze her feelings.

Gambit was no friend, that much she knew. What she felt for him is entirely different from what she felt for Pietro or Lance or any of the Brotherhood boys.

He was…He was a distraction. A smooth-talking, deviously charming distraction, but a distraction nonetheless.

"Soon." He replied as he studied her face intently.

"I heard ya the first time, Cajun." Rogue bit back a frustrated groan. "How soon is soon?"

Right. That what he was. An annoying, insane distraction.

The reason she was sad (she now refused to acknowledge it as grief) was because she would lose a source of entertainment. Yeah. That was it.

"Mebbe a few days," he gave a non-comitial shrug.

"Oh." Rogue leaned back, away from the Swamp Rat in front of her. "I see."

"Have anything to say?" He pressed, almost pleaded.

_"_Yeah." Rogue turned to him, her face serious. "Don't call me _chere_." Giving his chest a hard shove, Rogue stood up and stomped away.

Leaving Remy on the bench, a smirk on his face, shaking his head.

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"Gumbo!" Wolverine growled out as he stalked into the Institute. 

"Like, hello to you too." Kitty waved at him with a roll of her eyes. Typical Mr. Logan. He was out for two days and he just lumbers right in without so much as a proper hello. Kitty continued her quest to the rec room. "Remy's in the kitchen. He's the designated cook."

"Hold it, Half-Pint." 

Kitty turned to look at him expectantly.

"Have you been against the Brotherhood lately?"

"Not since we tried to recruit Todd." Kitty's forehead bunched up in concentration. "Thankfully the Brotherhood got to him first. I mean, can you just imagine Todd being here? Ew! And what he did to Scott! That was truly disgusting!" She turned and frowned when she saw her companion gone. "Mr. Logan? Hey, Mr. Logan!"

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Remy stirred his concoction and was just covering the pot to simmer when Wolverine stalked in muttering about being attacked by a pack of rabid Sabertooths and teenagers who wouldn't shut up. 

"Gumbo," Wolverine suddenly turned to him. 

"_'Allo, Monsieur_ Wolverine," Jaime, who was seated on the counter, swinging his legs about.

"Scram." Wolverine dismissed the boy.

"But I'm watching Remy cook!" He protested.

"That be alright, _petit_. It's almost done anyway. And it's time for Spongebob, _non_?"

"OK." Jaime jumped down and raced off.

"Last night, a top secret government agency got infiltrated, was it you?" Wolverine demanded the moment Jaime was out of earshot.

"You mean the break-in inside SHEILD HQ?" Remy asked. 

Logan growled.

"Sadly no. Remy heard about it through his contracts. though." Remy gave him a grin. "Heard about it though. And Remy's network had been going into triple overtime trying to figure out who it is. Remy's been planning on hitting the place, just for fun, but didn't get around to actually doing it. Someone beat him to it, then."

"You mean it's wholly possible to infiltrate the place?"

"_Homme_, nothing is impossible, _henh_?"

"So it wasn't you?"

"As much as it pains Remy to admit it, but no, it wasn't Remy."

"Your guild then?"

Remy wasn't surprised that Logan knew about his guild, just as Logan wasn't that surprised that the teen thief had already heard about the break-in. The Cajun had a hunch that the man before him had been around longer than the guilds itself, and would probably last way after the guilds. And he also knew about the man's honor. His secrets were safe, even from the prying mind of Charles Xavier.

"_Non_. That's why they want to send Remy home and figure it out. The guild's threatened. Don't be surprised if in a few days rumors would circulate that we did it. After all, we have an image to protect."

"Why aren't you worried?"

Remy gave a careless shrug. "There's no such thing as a perfect crime. The way Remy figures it, it's either a well-covered up inside-job or a rumor that SHEILD agents themselves circulated."

"It ain't." Wolverine said surely, leaving no room for discussion.

Remy also knew better than to question Wolverine or his sources. A frown crossed the younger man's face. "But who could pull this off?"

"Since you didn't do it that leaves me with just one person,"

Remy was flattered by the confidence that the X-Men instructor had in him. But his curiosity quickly enveloped the warm feeling inside him. "Who, then, _homme_?"

"Rogue."

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**~tbc**

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P.S.

See ya'll next chap!

So now I hope Rogue's mission was clear! Sorry to those I confused last chapter! =) When I was writing my replies to reviews, I haven't finished writing the story yet, and I thought I could explain it there. But I got all lazy and stuff and failed to write it in, unfortunately, I forgot to edit the reviews. Sorry. And speaking of reviews…

**Caliente**, I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment of your fic/s. And I hope you get unblocked, that's no fun at all. And to make up for the void the lack of Romyness left last chap, I tried to write in Romy mush, just for you! And what's this I hear about you not being a Lancitty fan? =) Fortunately (or unfortunately), I am one. And when I reread last chap, I had this feeling that my version of Lance is turning into Scott. Yikes. Better do something about it stat!

**Blink182dbzluver**, yeah! I live to rock readers' worlds! Or something like that. =)

**Ishandahalf**, no! this wouldn't be a full-pledged Romy without the review of the queen of Romyness herself! Ok, I promise, the next time you come out with a story, I'll leave a nice, long review (and yes, this is my sneaky way of persuading you to resume your writing career). 

**Carla-p**, once again, you made my day! Yey! Five consecutive reviews makes a girl feel special. Thanks for the constant shower of compliments, it definitely got my butt into gear.

**Bad-girl4**, Insanity's good, right? I mean, who is sane nowadays? Definitely not me!

**Rogue4787**, thanks for putting my mind at ease with the way I wrote Johnny Baby. He's not in this chap too much because I still have to tweak his character a bit. I mean, all he did in Evo was laugh and play with fire, at least, in the episodes I watched. I think that's all he did in the Uncanny X-Men animation too. Can't remember. Evo Pyro is nothing like movie Pyro. And I can't recall reading a comic with Pyro in it. I lead a sheltered life. Any suggestions?

**Star-of-Chaos**, another pyro fan! Let the pyromania begin! Maybe in next chapter? =) thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm thinking of giving him a bigger role, since a lot of people seem to like him a lot, but it would majorly deviate from my usual plans. But I'll see if I can fix it and stuff.


	16. Madness, Baby Pure Madness

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

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A/N: 

I am a very bad person. Due to some events that I could've prevented, but didn't, I omitted two names in my answers to reviews last time I posted. I am so sorry. I only learned about it when I was checking the review board right before I posted this. My sincerest, deepest, most humblest apologies to **Miss Poisonous **and to **Lady Starlight so kiss my ass**. And to make up for my inadvertence I dedicate this chapter to you two. Hope you find it in your hearts to forgive me. =)

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_To Miss Poisonous and to Lady Starlight_.

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Chapter 16 

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"John!" Lance bellowed. "Get out of the kitchen and let Fred cook in peace!"

"But mate," John's muffled protest was followed by the sound of pots and cans crashing.

"Allerdyce!" Fred shouted threateningly.

"Sorry, mate." A sheepish John apologized. "Accident."

Lance bit back a groan as he dejectedly left the kitchen to the dining hall. "I don't know why I bother."

"Lighten up, Lance," Pietro grinned at him as he zipped towards the kitchen table where Rogue and Wanda were poring over a large piece of paper. "If you don't relax in the next five minutes, you'll turn into Summers."

Lance growled but didn't say anything. 

"What's with him?" Pietro asked as he sat down beside Rogue and sneaked a peek at what Wanda and Rogue were looking at.

"His Pretty Kitty." Rogue replied absentmindedly. 

Pietro snickered which earned another dark glare from their team leader. Pietro cleared his throat and valiantly attempted to change the subject before Lance could clobber him. "What's that?" Pietro asked as he tugged on the paper so that it'll be right before him.

"I'm giving you two seconds to give it back." Wanda let the implied threat hang in the air.

"Eep." Pietro gulped as he shoved the paper back.

Lance cleared his throat. "If _some _people pay half the attention they pay in rumors then _they_ will know that this is a blueprint of the building they're constructing downtown."

Pietro made a face.

"Friends of Humanity my ass," Rogue muttered as she read the label that Mystique had scrawled at the bottom-right corner of the page.

"According to the army guy Rogue absorbed—" Lance paused and frowned. "Wait. Rogue, where's the fuzzy dude?"

"Don't ask." Came the grumble.

"We need one more for this. Do you think he'll be up to it tomorrow?" Lance asked her.

"Don't ask me, ask him."

Lance made a quick decision. "We'll just replace him then. Who do you think of the three stooges is up to it?"

"Well, we've trained Fred and Todd longer," Pietro offered.

"Not Toad." Wanda immediately answered.

"How about John?" Rogue suggested.

"He's too unpredictable." Lance mused. "Fred?" 

"He could work," Rogue nodded. "A little intimidation from The Blob won't hurt us none,"

"Alright. Fred it is then," Lance murmured.

"But can you leave Todd and John here alone in the house?" Pietro asked. 

Lance paled at the potential disaster that the two could get into in such a short amount of time. "Think we could get Jason to baby-sit?"

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The Prince of Thieves gracefully dropped to the ground, having just disabled the famed motion and heat detectors of the Bayville Museum.

And then he saw _them_, the object of his heist. Two twin emeralds that were just delivered that morning to the Museum as part of the Egyptian exhibit that was to be opened in two days. The emeralds were supposed to be the powerful and magical eyes of some god they have worshipped.

The thief grinned as he moved towards it, carefully, slowly, gracefully. He lifted the glass case and took the emeralds in his hands, admiring them. He then placed them in a black bag and into one of the hidden pockets of his battered trench. He replaced the case and went back out the way he came in. Piece of cake. He could do that in his sleep.

Once outside, the thief walked casually back home, as if he wasn't carrying two stones worth millions of dollars in his pocket. He brought out a cigarette and smoked the rest of the way.

He didn't really need to lift the emeralds. He just got a call offering a contract over them, nothing definite. If he was back in his hometown, he wouldn't even dream of accepting it, not because he cannot do it or because the price was too low. It was because there was no challenge. It would be like the proverbial candy from the baby.

But he was bored and he felt that if he didn't steal something soon, he'd get a bit rusty. But once again he proved to himself that stealing was like riding a bike. You'll never forget once you learned how.

And if he was really true to himself, there was another reason why he accepted the job. 

He wanted to see the emeralds up close.

For lately, he had been dreaming of them. Emeralds. Two emeralds, in particular. Emeralds that were so deep and so soulful that you could drown yourself in it. Two emeralds that were hypnotizing, that was just begging to be stolen.

But the two emeralds he had stolen were nothing like the emeralds that were haunting him even in sleep. He slipped his hand in his pocket and fingered the stones in it. 

Nope.

These emeralds were easy to obtain. The ones he dreamed about, the ones he longed to stare at all day, in order to obtain those, he must have the rank of a Master Thief. _That_ was the challenge. 

The thief grinned as he dropped the cig on the ground and crushed it with his boot.

He is yet to face a challenge that he cannot overcome.

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"Are you sure about this?" Rogue asked even as she peeled the gloves off her hands.

Wanda nodded, her face betraying no emotion. 

The two Brotherhood women had often talked of Rogue absorbing the Scarlet Witch's powers, but it was always postponed for a variety of reasons. One of which was that Wanda was afraid that once Rogue knew who she truly was, she'd stop being her friend. Not that she would admit that to her fellow Goth. 

Rogue knew on some level that Wanda had reservation about her _borrowing _hex powers. And she was quite willing not to do it. But Mystique had been adamant. Rogue was to absorb Wanda's powers sometime in the near future. But it didn't have to be tonight. She doesn't think that she'll need the hex bolts for the mission tomorrow. She had quite enough powers as it is.

But Wanda had insisted they do it now before she loses her nerve.

"Alright," Rogue took a step closer to her friend.

Wanda took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Here it goes," and Rogue bare hands touched Wanda's face for the first time.

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The reason Lance Alvers was in a bad mood was currently seated uncomfortably inside the office of Professor Charles Xavier, trying in vain to fully fold his large frame in one of the single chairs made for medium-sized people. 

"Mr. Rasputin, I trust that your tour around Bayville had gone well?" Charles Xavier smiled serenely at the large man.

"_Da_." Piotr Rasputin nodded. He had gone out that afternoon with one Kitty Pryde. She was gracious enough to go with him and for that he was grateful. But she did have this tendency to dominate the conversation, not that he had a lot to add. He was a quiet man by nature, coupled with the fact that he had a limited English vocabulary. He understood the language well enough, but he sometimes had trouble expressing himself. And the way she drives…

"Kitty tells me that the two of you had your first adventure,"

Piotr reddened. "I am sorry, professor," he said, his head hung in shame. "I know it is my first day, but the man was disrespecting Miss Pryde."

Xavier smiled paternally. 

Apparently, while driving around town, Kitty had decided to drop by an ice cream shop, horrified that her large companion had never had a root beer float in his entire life. Unfortunately, the two of them had run into Lance Alvers when they went out of the shop.

Disaster was only avoided by the timely arrival of the newest Brotherhood recruit, St. John something-or-the-other, who had dragged Lance away, babbling something about a sale on collectible lighters.

"Don't worry about it," he assured the young man. 

"Thank you."

"Feel free to go up here anytime you want to talk to me. My door is always open." Professor X continued. "And any other adults for that matter."

Piotr nodded. "Thank you." He repeated slowly, careful to pronounce word, his voice thick with the Russian accent. He stood up and shook Professor X's hand.

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Rogue crumbled into a heap on the ground, clutching her head as memories began to assault her.

Wanda, on the other hand, had staggered backwards until she reached the wall which propped her up. "No!" She cried out. "Stop! Please!" Tears began leaking from her eyes.

Rogue shook off her daze as her head snapped up. "Wanda?" She pulled on her gloves and stood up. "What's wrong?" She began to walk over to her.

"Stop! Don't go near me!" Wanda screamed as she stood up slowly. "How could you?" She demanded.

Rogue looked shocked but she was clueless as to why her friend was acting like this.

"You lied to me!" She cried out. "You all lied to me!" With that, she whirled away and stalked off.

"Wanda! Wait!"

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"Come in," Remy called out as he replaced the two emeralds into his black pouch and tossed it carelessly on his dresser. It was only eleven. He'd hit the museum as soon as it closed. Nobody even knew he was gone.

"Hey," a shy Jean Grey hesitantly entered.

Remy, who was lounging comfortable on his bed, grinned suggestively. But deep inside, he was thanking the merciful stars above that the redhead hadn't decided to check on him earlier. If she did, they would know that he was out and then they would know that it was definitely him who stole the diamonds.

"Oh." Jean blushed when she was that Remy's chest was bare and his lower torso was covered by a blanket. Her apology about disturbing him so late in the night died on her throat. She dared not think about what he was wearing down there, if any.

"Come in and be comfortable, _chere._" He said as he scooted over. "Have a seat." He patted the space on the bed he just vacated.

"Er, I'll be fine right here," she said as she rested her back on the dresser.

"Suit yourself. But if you change your mind," he wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

"No! No. I'm fine."

"So what brings you to Remy's room?"

"Oh. Yes. Right." It was obvious that all thoughts had left the flustered Jean.

Remy leered. 

Jean shook her head as if to clear it. Once again, she was reminded as to just how different Remy and Scott were. 

She had never seen Scoot the way Remy was today—half-naked (at least, she hoped it was only half!), lounging in bed, hair sticking up in the sexiest way, looking as if he just tumbled out of bed. Remy was, in one word, sexy, and dangerously so. That fact was only highlighted more by his smoldering onyx eyes. 

On the other hand, Scott was safe where Remy was sinful. Scott was polite, conservative, never let anyone in his room unless he was appropriately dressed. He was the Boy Scout while Remy was the Big Bad Wolf. 

"_Chere_?" Remy prompted again.

"Oh. Yeah." Jean shook her head, as if to clear it. "I heard you were leaving soon."

"_Oui._" He replied. "Goin' back home." 

"Oh. For how long?"

"Don't know yet. Mebbe for a day, mebbe forever. It all depends."

Jean looked faintly alarmed. "When will you leave?"

"Just waiting a call from my _pere_. My father." He supplemented at Jean's confused look.

"Well. I just want you to know, it was nice having you here. And if ever you want  to come back, you know the door's always open." She smiled at him.

"_Merci_." He said sincerely. 

Jean blushed once again as she pushed herself up, indicating the end of their conversation. "Well, just want to clear that rumor up by myself." She waved and turned. "Night."

He liked Jean, and not just in the man-liking-a-woman way. She's not perfect, no matter how everyone thinks she is or how Jean herself pretended to be at times. Far from that. But she's a nice person, always ready to look for the good in a person, after all, she was able to endure that idiot, Duncan. And she accepts people as they are. 

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"I see." Magneto mused. "So your absorbing her powers had erased Jason's works. She now remembers everything."

Pietro paled. He's doomed. No doubt about it.

"So what now?" Lance asked.

"We wait for her to make the next move." Magneto replied. 

Moments later, the meeting was adjourned. 

"Don't be so down, _Schwester_." Kurt tried to cheer her up after Magneto left. Only him, Rogue, Lance and Pietro were left in the meeting room. "She's still around. Just growling and glaring at everything that moves."

"I just hate to lose a friend." Rogue admitted.

"Don't worry, Roguey," Pietro patted her head like he does to a puppy. "We're still here for you."

"Yeah." Rogue grumbled. "Just remember, you'll be the first one she'll kill when she decides to snap."

"Oh! Is that my father calling?" Pietro asked loudly. "Gotta go, bye!"

"It's nice to know that you care about Wanda." Lance told her. "She needed a friend. She still does."

"Yeah. I remember when I was in Africa," Rogue started but trailed off when she noticed the weird looks her two teammates was giving her. "What?" She demanded.

"_Schwester, _you were never in Africa."

Rogue frowned. "What? I distinctively remember being in Africa!" She protested. "Maybe it was before our Brotherhood days so you don't know about it. In fact, they were worshipping me as a goddess…" Rogue trailed off as her eyes widened in realization. "Oh."

"Rogue, are you alright?" Lance hated to ask, knowing that Rogue hated to be reminded of her weaknesses, but as team leader, it was his duty to do so.

Rogue let out a pent-up sigh. "It's just that I've been going under stress lately with the war against humanity and absorbing people and everything," she closed her eyes. "I'm fine. Really. I have everything under control."

Lance looked at her doubtfully.

"Maybe a good night's rest would do you good, Rogue." Kurt suggested as he helped her on her feet. "We'll look for Wanda."

And Lance was informed just how tired Rogue was when she didn't protest and let herself be half-dragged, half-led to her room by her _brother_.

Things may have been going sour between him and Kitty but he would not let his family go down the drain yet again.

He repeated the vow he made to himself when she saw Kitty and her big block of a date. From this point on, he would devote himself and his energy to _the cause_.

He had to talk to Mystique about this, soon.

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_"I have warned Mystique but she refused to listen."_

Irene's words to him that fateful night came back to him as it always did every night.

_"Our capture is only the beginning."_

And yet at that time, he felt as if it was the end—his end.

_"I see death and destruction and her in the middle of it. Her mother named her well_."

Her powers were evolving, that much Xavier knew. And if he was to believe his newest informant, Mystique was assisting in every little way so that her powers would grow dramatically. But if there was one thing he knew about evolution, it's that it cannot be forced. One must let it go in its natural phase. 

"I see her, all alone. With no allegiance, no strings, no control. She will do as she wants, and she would want to end the world."

Xavier's blood had run cold at end. End the world. And in that sense, she will be worse than Magneto. 

"Mystique thinks she can control her. But she cannot. She would not."

Mystique was _knowingly _creating a monster. 

_"Is there nothing that we can do?"_ _Xavier had asked. He had linked minds with Irene when she was having her visions. He had no doubt as to the accuracy of what she sees._

Xavier remembered the way his stomach clenched when Irene shook her head. His mind had began to ponder the options and came up with only one answer—kill her before she gets too powerful…end her life while they still can. But Irene had smiled indulgently, as if she knew a little secret. 

_"You know you cannot kill."_

And he had known she was right. He could never kill, even if the whole world was at stake. And he could never ask his X-Men to do such a thing either.

"And even if you can, can you do the same thing all over again when the one that would threaten the whole world would be one of your own?"

He had been confused at that. Every night he had pondered at what that meant. But every night he had shrugged and believed that it was Irene merely posing a rhetorical question.

"But do not lose hope. For there is one that would make her follow his heart. She would listen to him and obey him completely."

Xavier sighed. He had an inkling as to who that _him_ could be, especially after he made them share what had happened in the rescue operation.

And _him_ was going back to New Orleans. He can't have that. He needed for him to be here in Bayville, where the Rogue would be. Irene wasn't too specific. But she did say that their capture would signal the beginning, though the fuse had been lit long before that. Checking his watch, he decided that it was too late to call, but would contact them as soon as possible.

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"WHAT?" Rogue demanded, her voice a few decibels and an octave higher. "You can't pull me out of tomorrow night's mission! You just can't."

"I can and I just did." Lance crossed his arms. "I am team leader."

"And I'm second-in-command." Rogue insisted stubbornly. "With Wanda out, you need me in."

"I need you to be a hundred percent." Lance refused to let his frustration seep out. Because is he lost his temper, Rogue would most probably throw a tantrum. And nobody wanted to see Rogue throw a tantrum.

"I am a hundred percent!" She insisted. "Only one psyche slipped yesterday, I've got it all under control now."

"You attacked Sabertooth this morning for no apparent reason." Lance told her calmly.

"He drank my coffee." Rogue replied.

"You also called him _bub_." 

"I—" she stumbled for an answer. "Just some slang I picked up. From the Wolverine."

"Right." Lance shook his head. "I talked to Mystique about this. She agrees with me that we can carry out this mission without you. Kurt's with me. He'll be second-in-command."

"But—"

"And you've got sessions with Agatha Harkness about the voices in your head." He knocked on the top of her head twice.

Rogue waved him off. "I'm not going insane."

"Of course not. Been there, done that, huh."

"Shut up, saltshaker."

"Now be a good girl and watch over the house while we're gone. Make sure that John and Todd don't kill each other."

Rogue made a face but didn't reply.

"That's a good girl."

"I hate you."

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**~tbc**

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P.S.__

I've got a new XME plotbunny in my head. If you want to check it out, go to **triple w dot xanga dot com slash khayee**. Then leave me a message as to whether or not it's worth fleshing out. I'll be posting a teaser there soon. Thanks and kisses! =)

And who asked for Piotr? =) I'm going insane with all the characters ambling around in this fic aimlessly. But it is recruitment time! Unfortunately, I want to focus on Rogue and the stuff that are beginning to happen in her head. So expect just a cameo from other characters, but I'll do my best to write 'em in.

And that's right, if the X-Men have _the dream_, the Brotherhood have _the cause_.

How did you guys find the responsible and concerned Lance? Too much? =p

I'm answering reviews again. For the record, if I missed anyone, it's because ff.net had gone bonkers these past few days.

**Blink182dbzluver** – thanks. You rock too. Did you know that ff.net sent me the notice to your review at _least _thirty-three times? Yup. That's right. I opened my mailbox and found that I had 70 messages. I opened the first thirty three and then they were all from ff.net, informing me of your review. Ha. So I deleted the messages that were from bot@ff.net. Just so you know. =p

**Tevrah** – I don't know yet if Rogue's going to touch soon. Possibly, no definite plans tho.

**Bad-girl4**- oh yeah! All insane people in the world unite! We should start a club. =) Rogue broke into SHEILD because they had declared war on everything they _perceive_ to be as anti-mutant. St. John's just a cameo. Try to write a longer chapter with him next time. =)

**PomegranateQueen** – no concrete romyness in this chapter. I'll make it up to all of you in the next few chapters. After all, Destiny had prophesized that our Rogue would completely obey Remy! Hehehe!

**Angelicstar2** – I'm saving Remy's reaction until he and Rogue meet. Can't wait to write that part!

**SickmindedSucker** – I finished this chap as soon as I humanly could. Don't hold your pee, it's bad for your health. My mom got sick because of that and I had to rush her to the hospital. Of course, we had to make stops at all the gasoline stations on the way because she can't hold it in too long. But she's OK now. =)

**GambitsRogue** – ooh. Kissy bits. Yup. Am planning on that. Not in next chapter tho. But maybe the one after that. ThankS!

**GWFreak315** – I still haven't decided as to how they would "talk" to Rogue, if at all. Thanks for your correction on the German. I really appreciate it. My best friend in high school knows how to speak German, she studied there for about three years. But then, now, she's suddenly disappeared from the face of the planet, so I haven't got anyone to ask anymore. Rats. Now I'm missing her. =) 

**AthenaAlpha** – well blushes uncontrollably maybe not everything…thanks tho. 

**Ishandahalf** – Spiffy reminds me of Spuffy…Spuffy reminds me of Spike…Darn. Now I gotta pop over to the Buffy section and read myself some Spike fics. Man, he's hot! Ahem I mean, hey, I'm totally going to hold you to that one-shot, OK? See you next chapter, same bat-time, same bat-channel! Sorry. Couldn't resist, with the batman comic and all. Hey, do you know that I'm a batman freak before I got hooked on romy? =)

**CajunBelle** – Thanks. Aw shucks kicks dirt bashfully. Thanks for the compliment.

**Caliente** – update! Update! Update! Update! Update! No pressure, tho. Maybe I should change that to 'update now!' You know, I misread the 'Logan/Fury stuff' on your review as "Logan/Fury **fluff**." I was like, "WHAT?" and then dissolved to helpless snickers before I reread the passage. Logan/Fury fluff indeed. That gave me goosebumps!

**Turquoise** – Aha! So it was you who asked if Piotr was going to be here! At first, I was like it was either Jaime or Piotr who's going to be in. Obviously, I chose Jaime. But then I read your review and then I realized that unlike in the original evo where almost all mutants are in the X-Men, my Brotherhood has more members than my Xmen. So I decided to even it out a bit. Anyway, thanks!

**Rogue4787** – Not much St. John and thankfully no Amber. =) Still confused as to how to do a Pyro but am figuring it out, hopefully. I read Aro's stuff. They're good. But I'm afraid that if I lift her version of Pyro, I might get accused of copyright infringement and be banned from ff.net. Maybe if I ask her nicely…

**Star-of-Chaos** – oooh…nice idea. Maybe he will. =) 


	17. Power Surge

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either. 

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A/N: 

I know, it's been two weeks. There's no excuse, I know. So onward with the story!

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Chapter 17 

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Many have made the mistake of underestimating them because of their age. They were only teenagers, not even old enough to vote. And yet, some of them have experienced things that even veterans only dream of knowing.

  
Looking at them, nobody would even suspect the power that they have within. They look like ordinary teenagers whose greatest concerns should have been having dates on weekends and dodging acne. Instead, they were having terrorist missions on the weekends and dodging bullets. 

Some of them look normal. But even those that who look different, do not look like those monsters on TV that was hell-bent on ruling the world. They look mischievous, not evil. They sound like a regular angsty, rebellious teen, not like a madman who is holding the world at hostage.

They were trained from the moment they stepped into the Boarding House. Many painstaking hours spent honing their skills and their gifts. Each training session was unique, designed by their adult leaders so that their real potential would be brought about. Though they were taught to fight as a team, it was equally important for them to learn to survive if left alone. Their leader had learned the hard way that in life, the only one you could rely on was yourself. 

They were teenagers, and they were feared, not jut by their peers, but by the whole world. They were feared because of what they are and what they could do. 

They were young, but they were experienced. They were students, but they were terrorists. They come across as normal, but they were different. 

They were the Brotherhood.

"I'm bored." St. John Allerdyce proclaimed as he squirmed uncomfortably on the couch after hours of _not_ watching the television.

The whole world might fear them, but they were teenagers still.

"Me too." Todd agreed immediately.

Rogue, who was pissed off beyond belief at being left behind, stoically stared straight ahead. Unmoving. Unblinking. Unbending. 

Years of terrorist training cannot really mask the typical teenage response when things don't go their way. 

Yes, the young mutant terrorist prodigy known only as Rogue was moping. 

"I wanna go out." St. John continued.

"Me too!" Todd hopped up in excitement. "Where are we going?" He asked as an afterthought.

St. John's face fell. Due to his _potential_, according to Magneto, he was immediately put to training. There were no guided tours for him. The moment he stepped into the Boarding House, he was immediately dragged kicking and screaming to their training room. But he wasn't about to let a simple thing as lack of destination to get in the way of his plan to go out and party! Party! Party!

He thought long and hard. "Oh! I know! I know!" He grinned excitedly. "To the mall!"

"Wait!" Rogue called out. Even if Kurt was declared Lance's new second-in-command until she gets the voices in her head straightened out, she was leader of the slacker group that was left behind.

St. John's and Todd's face fell. 

"Oh, please, Roguey!" St. John pleased childishly, clasping his two hands together and dropping to his knees. "Please, please, please?"

"Yeah, Rogue," Toad fell into a similar stance. "Please?"

Rogue sighed. This was pathetic. "Whatever. What do I care?" She concurred. 

St. John and Todd hopped up and in delight. 

Rogue realized how quiet things are going to be when the two of them leaves. She's going to be left alone. And try as she might to deny it, her powers where going whacko on her. She didn't want to be left alone. _I'm sooo gonna regret this._ She sighed. "Wait up!" She called after the two who were now doing their little dance on the front porch. "I'm coming with you," quickly making a decision, she went back to the kitchen. When she got back, she dangled a silver key enticingly. "And we're taking Pietro's car."

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"So we're supposed to scare the hell out of everyone in the building?" Pietro mused as he zipped all over the Brotherhood chopper. 

"We're supposed to go in and destroy their equipments and computers and make sure that nothing could be salvaged to be used against mutants." Lance explained for the hundredth time.

"Right." Pietro said.

"And please stay in your seat!" Lance snapped.

"Rocky, baby, put yourself in my shoes." Pietro argued. "Every second is like an hour for me. Do you really expect me to be able to sit still for _hours_?"

Lance opened his mouth to argue when Kurt suddenly cut him off.

"Avalanche! Look out!" 

Lance jerked the controls of the chopper violently to the right. He cursed. A red laser beam had almost his the cockpit of their vehicle!

"It's the X-Geeks!" Blob announced unnecessarily.

"What the hell are they doing there?" Lance demanded angrily as their screen flashed the X-Men guarding the building owned by Friends of Humanity.

"Oh, crap." Pietro groaned when he saw a woman float into the air, her white hair swirling all around her, while black clouds started to form from behind. Lightning streaked the horizon. 

Fight or flight?

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Jean winced as the flying vehicle which contained the Brotherhood drew near.

"Jean?" Scott immediately called out in worry when he noticed that the redhead was clutching her head. 

"I'm fine, Scott," she murmured to appease the team leader.

_We can take those X-Geeks on our worst day!_

_Magneto's orders doesn't concern them, do we fight or draw back until further notice._

_There's my Jeannie!_

_I hope this works, _ja_?_

The scrambled thoughts grew louder and louder as the vehicle drew near.

There's something wrong with Jean.

_Like, I hope Lance's in there._

_Pietro's mine!_

_This is my first mission. I hope not to let my friends and the professor down._

_Goddess!_

Jean was having difficulty tuning out her teammates, too. The only ones not giving her any difficulty were Gambit and Wolverine. "Stop it!" Jean cried out, the voices in her head finally overwhelming her. "I said STOP!" With a wave of her fingers, a strong telekinetic force lashed out at the vehicle that contained the Brotherhood members. It was as if the vehicle slammed into an unmovable wall as it was thrown back by the pressure of it all.

"Jean!" Scott called out.

Jean promptly fainted.

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"Hold on!" Kurt cried out as his three friends held on to his fur. 

"Beam us up, Scottie!"

  
And with a puff of smoke, the four ported to safety.

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"It's all my fault." The normally stoic and in-control Scott Summers slumped against the wall. On the other side of the wall was Jean, whose powers were beginning to overtake her. "I should've noticed that something's wrong with her. I mean, her power's been acting up all day."

And now, it was worse. No one could approach the telekinetic for she had built a wall around herself using various objects available in the medbay. The professor had tried to call out to the redhead, but to no avail. He had instead asked all the students to vacate the area for their own safety after a flying surgical knife nicked Evan on the shoulder and Kitty was almost hit by a bed.

The professor wheeled out of the room, exhausted.

"Professor!" From beside Scott, Kitty bounced up, ready for some news, preferably good ones.

The professor shook his head. "I cannot calm her down. She's withdrawn in herself. Her power is evolving faster than her skill can keep up."

"What can we do, professor?" Piotr asked.

"I don't know. For now, I've been able to calm her mind down, but I know that it won't last for long." The professor said.

"What now?" Evan asked.

The professor was silent.

"I have an idea." Kitty suddenly offered. "But I don't think it's a good one."

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"You want Remy to do what again?" Remy asked as he lazily shuffled his cards.

"It's Jean's only chance." Scott pleaded.

Remy gazed out thoughtfully as he puffed on his cigarette. "Alright," he said after a moment. "I'll do it."

Scott looked at him gratefully. "Th—"

"Don't think for one minute Remy's doing for you, _homme_," the Cajun said as he dropped his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his boot. "Miss Grey's Remy's friend too,"

"I know." Scott nodded. "Do you think she'll do it?" 

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"My car!" Pietro cried out dramatically. "My beautiful silver car!"

"I don't know what you're yappin' about, Maximoff." Rogue huffed. "It's not like you need a car or something,"

"It's the principle of the thing, Roguey," Pietro moaned as he examined a long, angry gash at his baby's passenger door. "Noooo!"

"It was an accident," Rogue tried to placate Pietro.

"Todd is soo dead!" Pietro zipped into the house.

Rogue shook her head. She held out her hand and commanded the metal to pop back up. Now all Pietro had to do was repaint the car and it would be good as new.

"Nice party trick, _chere_," 

"I was wondering how long it would take before you reveal yourself," Rogue replied easily as she stepped back to survey her work.

"Remy was enjoying the view," he said as he stepped forward from the shadows.

Rogue raised her head to meet her eyes. "So what brings you to this side of the jungle?" 

Remy shrugged. Might as well jump in. "The X-Men need your help, _chere_." 

Rogue raised an eyebrow. "The mighty X-Men stooping down to ask help from the Brotherhood?"

"Not the Brotherhood," Remy replied. "Just you."

"Why?" The question was not vicious or malicious, merely curious.

"Jeannie's powers had been acting up. And lately, it got to a point where even the professor can't control it."  
  


"What do you want me to do?"

"Absorb a little of her powers, take enough so it'll come down to more manageable levels."

Rogue frowned as she thought about it. 

"If you're wondering what's in it for Roguey," Remy continued. "Just think of it as an opportunity to absorb her powers."

Rogue shrugged in disinterest. "Already have both her powers." She turned to go back into the house.

"_Chere_," Remy said as he caught her arm and turned her back to him. "Please?"

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"We have a traitor in our midst!" Lance angrily slammed his fist down the table.

"What?" Pietro asked as he looked mildly amused as he watch Lance pretend that his knuckles didn't hurt.

"That's the third time those X-Geeks turned up in our secret missions." Lance continued his tirade as he began his pacing.

"Maybe it's Xavier doing his mind thingy," Pietro suggested, uninterested.

"Maybe." Lance allowed. "But if it isn't, heaven help whoever is helping out those guys."

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"Remind me why on earth I'm here again,"

Remy gracefully descended his bike and offered a hand to Rogue before answering. "Because Remy asked so nicely?"

"Nu-uh. Try again." Rogue ignored her companion's hand and made it off the bike on her own. 

"Because you can't stand to say no to Remy." Came the second suggestion as he walked her towards the Institute's front doors.

Rogue snorted. "Cajun, you better come up with better reasons than that to keep me from porting outta here,"

Remy paused and turned Rogue around so that she would face him. He observed her face carefully. "Walking up these steps feel like you're comin' home, ain't it, _chere_?" But before Rogue can open her mouth to argue, Remy continued walking.

Rogue froze. He was right. As she walked with Remy towards the entrance of the grand mansion, she can't help but feel like everything's finally going right, like for the first time in her life, she found where she belonged. She shook her head. Must be the psyches again. "Hey, LeBeau. Wait up!" She ran after him.

"How about this, _cher,_" Remy said, referring to her question. "You're doing this because for once in your life you wanna do the right thing, not just the things your mother tells you to do,"

"I think that the statement would carry more weight if it wasn't spoken by a thief." Rogue rolled her eyes.

Remy chuckled. "_Touché." _

Before Remy could raise his hand to dramatically open the door for his _chere_, the door majestically opened to reveal a frantic Scott Summers.

"Thank God you're here," he cried out. "She's worse than ever!"

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**~tbc**

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P.S.__

I've got a blog! Check it out at **triple w dot xanga dot com slash khayee**. Don't forget to leave me a message. Thanks and kisses! =)

To the reviewers! Thanks ya'll!  
  
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**sassygirl_58701** (sassygirl_58701@yahoo.com), sweetie, I tried emailing you but your mailbox is already full. Anyway, to post stories, you would have to register in ff.net. It's in the upper right hand corner of ff.net's frontpage. You won't miss it. Click on the word Register (it's right beside the word, Log-in) then follow the instructions and fill in the appropriate information at the prompt. After registration, log-in then, you're ready to post! Email me if you have further problems but make sure that you still have space in your mailbox so I can reply immediately.

**Paprika**, Thanks. It took me two weeks before I can update because I got bogged down with another fic. Darn those rabid plotbunnies!

**Goofn1**, thanks. Er, written above is a brooding/whining Rogue. Heh. I was half-afraid that the way I wrote Lance was a bit over the top so thanks for the affirmation. I'll try to write in some Lance angst, but the Rogue/Remy shipper in me demands that I put in more Romy moments. Argh. But since I also support Lancitty, they'd probably end up together. =)

**Caliente**, I still can't review! Argh! Looking forward to more of your updates. And if I won't be able to review soon, expect another stalker-ish email for me.

**Lady Starlight so kiss my ass**, Postponing the Remy leaving, that is for at least three chaps. Then I'll see where it goes.

**Miss Poisonous**, so I take it that I'm finally forgiven? More Wanda next chap. And just say the word and I'll dedicate next chap to you. =)

**Steph Silverstar**, first of all, lemme tell you that I just looove your name. =) thanks for the review and don't you just hate it when some dire circumstance just forces you to skip your daily doze of fanfiction? I know I do.

**keebler-elmo**, Remy's leaving is temporarily held off because of Miss Grey's power surge. Maybe we should thank her a bit for that. *shudders*Hmmm…I will explore the depths of Remy's powers soon and it's tied up with Destiny's prophecy.

**GambitsRogue**, Well, soon, Rogue would be all Remy's! Mwahahaha. You have to tune in to future chapters to find out what I mean. 

**ishandahalf**, I don't know about the bonding thing, but I'm sure I can write in something that would keep Remy in Bayville for further Rogue-Remy interaction. What fun! Thanks for the Brotherhood compliments!

**Blink182dbzluver**, Thanks. Sorry, it took half a month before I can update. Hope it was worth the wait.

**SickmindedSucker**, Ah, another one of those people who violently opposes Remy's leaving. Don't worry, I'll make sure that my plotbunnies would brew something really wicked to keep the Cajun in the Institute.

**bad-girl4**, if ever you start a club with insane people, I'll be first on the list. =) anyway, more Wanda stuff next chapter.

**Katrina5**, I can't blame you for the laziness in reviewing, I'm guilty in that one as well. And now that my stupid computer won't open links, I cannot review as well. Thanks for the correction. I'll be going over that chap one of these days, but again with the lazy thing. =)

**Rogue4787**, my chap made you break into song? My mission is now complete! Yey! =) Thanks for making my day.

**Star-of-Chaos**, well, before the self-possessed episode came the power surge ep with Jean. Rest assured that I have something big planned for the Southern Belle.  ;)

**Heven**, ah, my dear, your questions would be answered soon…as in a few chapters soon. 


	18. Aftermath

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either.

**A/N:**

**How long was I gone? A week? Two? A month? A month and a half?**

**blushes shamefully**

**Sorry guys. In my defense, I had most of this chap written on time, just ask those who check out my blog at ****triple w dot xanga dot com slash khayee****. Unfortunately, I was busy on a project for most of April and was hospitalized for two weeks in May. After I got home, actually after that horrible, horrible experience (something about having a morbid fear of needles with a doctor who absolutely insisted on blood samples every eight hours), I was so weak that I can't write for a while.**

**Can you forgive me also for not answering reviews for this chapter? I have a feeling that you've forgotten all about this fic and what you've written all those weeks ago. =) Plus, still feeling a wee bit woozy. **

**Thanks guys. And to make it up, I'm updating my other fic too.**

**Special prize goes to ****JexyBaby**** and to ****curly****gurly**** for getting my arse into gear for this one.**

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**Ideologies**

Chapter 18

She felt it even before her hand touched skin.

Raw power. Limitless potential. Energy in its purest form.

And it was hers for the taking.

You wouldn't know it by looking at her, but deep within Jean Grey is a force beyond imagining, boiling beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed. Yet, even its possessor is not yet powerful enough to contain it. Instead, it is the power who destined to control the possessor, as is happening now.

Rogue felt the powers within her react with Jean Grey's. Their proximity made it possible for the Brotherhood teen to see what lies within the popular telepath.

It burns, weakly at first, but it is becoming stronger and brighter with each passing moment. It burns.

The fire is slowly consuming the redhead.

That same fire is beckoning to the other girl.

Rogue's hand moved, poised over the unconscious body of Jean Grey.

Around her, Jean's telekinesis continued on moving objects, hurling them through the air. Her wild telepathic power, on the other hand, kept the debatably strongest telepath of the world from getting to her. Charles Xavier had never felt more impotent in his life.

But Rogue was safe inside the same telekinetic bubble that Jean made unconsciously to protect herself.

Just as Rogue felt Jean's powers calling her, the fire inside the redhead seemed to recognize Rogue and kept her safe from the attack too. Or maybe it was a manifestation of Rogue's power, a defensive mechanism of her own body in response to her survival instincts.

All they knew was that the moment Rogue stepped into the nearly-destroyed medlab, Rogue was enclosed in a bubble which kept her safe. And unlike in other people's previous attempts, Rogue was allowed passage towards the unconscious X-Man.

_"If you want any semblance of control over your powers then you must not be afraid to use it._"

_"But momma," the confused teen protested. "It hurts. Every time I touch someone, it hurts." She shuddered as she remembered the burning sensation on her skin moments before, when she absorbed the unconscious man on her feet._

_The mother didn't say anything. "Nothing in life is easy." She said after a while. "You have to grow strong or else everyone will treat you cruelly. And in order to be strong, you must be willing to make sacrifices and take pain as they come."_

Rogue closed her eyes. I have to be strong. I have to be the strongest.

Without giving herself a time to think further, Rogue grabbed Jean's hand.

And the two women both screamed in agony.

"Where were you?"

Rogue bit back a sarcastic reply as she trudged through the front door where Lance was awaiting her return. "Out."

"You've been with that thief and liar, haven't you?" Lance ground out as he grabbed a covered arm to keep her from storming into her room.

"None of your business." Rogue replied as she shook her leader off and headed for the stairs. Lance cut her off with a minor quake.

"Rogue." Kurt ported in when he heard the rising voices, ready to intervene in case violence breaks out.

"Keep out of this," Lance told the elf. "Someone's been betraying the Brotherhood."

Rogue let out a growl as she turned around to face her team leader. "And you think it's me?" She demanded, her green eyes flashing.

"Everyone's a suspect until proven otherwise," Lance replied evenly. "Now, where were you tonight?"

"Out."

"Rogue, you're not helping your case any!" Lance called out.

"I am loyal to the Brotherhood, Lance, you know that as well as I do." Rogue hissed. "You guys are my family. I will never turn my back on my family." With that, Rogue turned and walked away.

"Lance?" Kurt called out hesitantly.

"Talk to your sister, Kurt." Lance said in defeat.

"Get out."

Remy raised an eyebrow as he pushed himself to an upright position. He had been lounging lazily against a tree, smoking a cigarette. A tree just at the edge of the Brotherhood Boarding House property to be precise.

After absorbing the excess of Jean's powers, Remy had given an exhausted Rogue a ride home. As he was walking her towards the front door of the Boarding House, Remy's empathy had kicked in again, giving him a feeling that he was finally coming home, a feeling he was positive emanated from Rogue. That one had puzzled him. It was exactly the same feeling that he felt when he walked with her up the Institute doors. He had shrugged it off.

"Hey! You heard me, you dirty thief?"

Remy turned his head a bit to see a pissed-off Quicksilver.

"Or maybe you want me to _escort_ you out?"

"No need to get violent, _homme_," Remy placated the silver-haired teen, using a bit of his charm powers. "Remy was just on his way out," he smirked as he moved away.

The angry warning about the thief staying far, far away from Rogue died in Pietro's lips, as he watched in bewitched wonder as Gambit escaped.

A minute or two after the noise of the motorcycle ceased, Pietro shook himself from his stupor. "What on earth just happened?"

Raven Darkholme was no stranger to pain.

She was introduced to it as a child when her grandmother abrasively pulled her away from the windows where the young Mystique was watching other children happily play. She had felt it when she was forbidden from ever stepping out of their house by her previously loving gramps. She had felt it when her grandmother was found dead days later by social workers. She knew pain when the social workers looked at the blue-skinned child with fear and disgust. She had known it when she ran away and did what she can to survive in the streets. She knew it when she found out she was a mutant when she excruciatingly shape-shifted for the first time. She knew it when the man she thought she loved left her, and again later when she found that she was with child.

And yet, now, standing outside of her lover's room, Raven felt pain a thousand fold.

She had not entered Irene Adler's room since they were captured by Bolivar Trask and his men.

Placing a tentative hand on Irene's door, Raven was accosted with more pain than she had felt in the past.

She had thought that she finally found happiness in Irene, only to have that happiness once again wrenched for her.

It was painful. But she knew she has to endure pain if she was to be strong.

And to be strong, she must.

Pushing the door open, she was almost unprepared against the memories that accosted her.

Irene's scent was still prevalent in the small but neat room. Raven almost believed that any moment now, Irene would step out of the bathroom to greet her.

Raven had prepared herself for the pain. But another emotion attacked her, one that she was unready for. Guilt.

She had insisted that Irene's room be separated from hers. Magneto and other people must not perceive a weakness against Mystique. No one must know that the blind clairvoyant was held by the shape shifter closer than any other person in her heart.

And because of that, the two of them lost so much time.

Raven closed her eyes, and with that, she managed to close off her feelings. That was how she survived in the streets for so long. She numbed herself from her emotions and she does what she must.

When Raven finally opened her eyes, she immediately made her way towards her goal.

Reaching out with one hand, a finger gracefully traced the spines of a generic looking set of black leather bound books. Books that Irene spent most of her time scribbling in, regardless of the fact that she cannot see each fresh page or any line of her mad scrawlings. Irene had claimed that the books have saved her sanity.

And Raven believed her.

The set of books would be Irene's legacy.

Destiny's Diaries.

Picking one out, she slid it away from the others and opened it, her eyes furiously traveling across the page. She must know if they had succeeded in unlocking the powers of their child.

Rogue trained her unseeing eyes on the thankfully plain white ceiling. She didn't want to close them anymore.

Because every time she did, she sees a flash of memory.

Painful ones.

Ones that can drive a person insane.

Memories that scream to be avenged.

Memories of torture, rejection, ridicule, and intolerance.

Memories of disappointment, hurt, mystification, and grief.

Memories that weren't hers.

"_Chere_?"

Dilemma immediately forgotten, Rogue groaned. "Go away."

Raven's eyes widened as she drank in the page before her. Feeling weak in the knees, she collapsed upon Irene's bed. The shape-shifter didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

It had begun.

**tbc**

_As usual, reviews would be greatly appreciated! _=)__


	19. Teetering

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either.

A/N: This is going to be short. I'm sorry. I just entered my junior year and my classes are harder than ever. Usually, I go home with just enough energy to fall into my bed. All my free time are spent catching up with my academic backlog (yes, I've only been back to school for three weeks and I already have a backlog!). I've been drained of my creative juices. sigh I'm not inspired! ;) So, this is the best I could come out with. But don't worry, though stuff would be slow in coming, I'm making sure that they would be coming. I'm not giving up yet. Who knows, maybe classes would be suspended one day and I can finally write to my heart's content. Here's to wishing.

Props to littlefreak for getting my arse in gear!

Previously on XME: Ideologies 

Jean Grey's powers went wonkers. Rogue came in to help, mostly as a favor to a certain persistent Cajun. When she gets home, Lance accused her of betraying the 'Hood to the X-Men. Rogue denies it. Raven, on the other hand, was reminiscing her affair with the departed Destiny by reading her diaries. Raven learned that it was time for her lover's prophecies to unfold. Remy, despite warnings of a certain speed demon, returned to Rogue's room to offer her his company.

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**Ideologies**

**Chapter 18**

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Rogue could barely keep her eyes open.

"Don't fight it, _chere_," Remy told her softly, gloved hands stroking her soft hair. "Go to sleep. You had a long day."

The two were intimately intertwined on her bed, her protected by her blanket, he by his favored trench coat, talking softly, comforting each other, being there for the other.

For the life of him, Remy had no idea how he got there. He went into her room earlier, intent on checking on how she was doing, maybe get into a good-natured bicker or two, and then leave. Staying in her bed, though really, really tempting, was not in his plans, at least, not for that night.

But here he was.

And there she was. In his arms. A perfect fit.

Rogue shook her head. "I don't want to sleep. The nightmares will come,"

"Shh. Remy's here." He said. "Remy'll look after you."

Rogue let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes. Moments later, her drowsiness won. She was asleep.

Remy was quite content to hold her and watch her sleep. But trained ears warned him that someone was approaching. And that someone would not be happy to see him there.

Not that he cared.

But Rogue might.

Man, was he whipped.

Sighing with regret, he skillfully untangled Rogue from himself and rolled out of the bed.

With one last longing look, Remy exited through the bedroom window.

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Mystique walked into her daughter's room and closed the door softly behind her.

It has begun. The process that would painfully wrench her daughter from her had begun and she was helpless to anything about it, if Destiny's Diaries were to be believed.

But Mystique was never one to simply sit back and watch things happen. If only Irene had only been more specific in her prophesies. If only her lover told her specifically what to do. If only…

A low moan came from Rogue's bed.

"Rogue," she immediately rushed to her daughter's side.

Sleeping on the bed, eyes tightly shut, a look of pure terror on her face, Rogue looked desperate to be wakened from her nightmare.

Mystique carefully shook her daughter. "Rogue, wake up! Rogue!"

"NO!" Rogue shot up, eyes open in shock.

Mystique's eyes widened as she felt Rogue's bare hand on wrist, grasping the limb as if her life depended on it.

A moment of shock passed between mother and daughter.

And then The Rogue's power kicked in.

Mystique felt the pull of her daughter's powers taking her own and immediately struggled to pull out. But Rogue, in a half-conscious state, had a death-grip.

Finally, the older Darkholme succeeded. But the damage was done.

Mother and daughter were both gasping for breath. Mother a little weak, daughter very confused.

"Rogue?" Raven tentatively checked on her daughter.

"No!" Rogue shouted in horror when the elder woman tried to comfort her. "Stay away from me." Slowly, confusion turned to anger.

"Rogue," Mystique assumed that her daughter was pulling away as usual because of her powers. "I'm here."

"I said stay away from me!" Rogue screeched as she scrambled off the bed. "You knew!" Her voice laced with venom, now fully-awake, she turned on the woman she grew up calling mother. "You knew."

"What? I knew what?"

"That Irene was going to die!" Rogue's emerald eyes sparkled with barely-controlled fury. "She warned you that if you continued your plans, she was going to die! And you let her! It's all your fault!"

Mystique's eyes widened in horror. "I did it for you!"

"You did it for yourself!" By now, Rogue was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Raven restrained the urge to slap some sense into her daughter, one, because they were both uncovered and two, it wouldn't change the way she feels. "You will not speak to me that way."

"I don't have to speak to you at all." With that, Rogue ported out.

Mystique closed her eyes in pain, wondering how things had gone horribly wrong with just one simple touch.

* * *

"_Scwester_?" Kurt ported on the rooftops where she knew her sister was brooding since early that morning.

The whole Brotherhood was awakened by the confrontation between mother and child first thing in the morning, but all of them knew better than to try and interfere. Both women had a temper to be reckoned with. And together, that was the stuff nightmares were made of.

Rogue was seated Indian-style, her hand grasping her head as if she was in pain.

"It's so loud, Kurt," her voice was no more than a whisper. "It won't stop. I can hear everyone, everything." Slowly, she looked up and turned to him. "I can hear you."

Kurt's eyes widened as shock slowly registered on her sister's eyes.

"I can hear you," she repeated sadly. "Why, Kurt? Wasn't the Brotherhood enough?"

Kurt closed his eyes in shame. "I couldn't take it, Rogue," he said slowly. "It kept me awake all night. I don't want a war on our hands. Who knows, maybe their dream of peace is possible."

"So you betrayed us?" It was an anguished cry. She had thought Lance as insane, thinking that there was a traitor in the 'Hood. But the truth was right before her. Kurt had been tipping the X-Men about the various missions they were engaging in. That's how they knew when and where the   
'Hood would strike. That was how they stayed one step ahead of the game.

Kurt lowered his head.

Rogue slowly shook her head. "I can't take this. I have to go," slowly, she stood up.

"_Schwester,_"

"No. Don't call me that." Rogue lifted off the roof and flew away from the place that she no longer felt was her home.

* * *

"Nightcrawler!" Kitty gasped as she saw the Brotherhood teen outside the mansion door, looking panicked and desperate.

"I have to see the professor," he cried out.

_It's quite alright, Kitty. Send him to me._

"Like, follow me," Kitty said as she stepped aside to let in the teleporter. She led him to the Professor's office where she was politely thanked and was asked to close the door after she leaves.

"Kitty?" Scott frowned as she saw the girl lurking outside Professor's X's office.

"Scott!" Kitty reddened, having caught trying to eavesdrop.

"What are you doing here?" Scott's eyes narrowed behind the glasses.

"Er, nothing?" Kitty smiled innocently. "Oh, alright. Nightcrawler showed up half an hour ago outside the door and he's been in there ever since," she motioned to the closed door. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"Nightcrawler?"

"You know, blue fur all over, yellow eyes, smelly teleportation, and stuff."

Scott frowned. Why was a Brotherhood member the Institute?

_X-Men, in my office right away!_

* * *

Rogue didn't know how long it had been since she left the Boarding House. All she knew was that she had to keep on walking.

The voices in her head were louder than ever, yet she could not understand them. She can hear all of them talking at once, yet no voice stood out.

Rogue shut her eyes. "Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP!"

In shock, people around her turned and stared.

"SHUT UP!" In desperation, she swung her fist with no direction. She hit the wall beside her.

The people were shocked when the wall to the store crumbled. A crack the size of a teen's fist was left.

"Mutie!" A woman screamed in panic.

As one, people hurried away from the mutant teen, voices loud, pushing and shoving each other out of the way.

"Shut the hell up!" An anguished rogue cried.

And beyond the voices in and out of her head, she heard something, a sound unlike others that were clamoring for her attention. A voice that could be her redemption…or her downfall.

A sinister smile crossed Rogue's lips as she recognized the droning sound as that of a motorcycle.

* * *

"She's in a very precarious mental state right now. Any extreme act from us may push her over the edge." The professor was saying.

All of the X-Men were present except Jean, who was still recovering, and Wolverine, who was on the road.

"In English, please?" Evan asked with a roll of his eyes.

"It means that she's a bit, you know," Bobby Drake made circular motions near his right ear with his index finger. "Cuckoo."

Nightcrawler growled with his sister being talked about that way. He was about to say something when he was beaten to it.

"Take that back, _homme_," it was spoken calmly, but a glowing card between his fingers depicted how upset the resident Cajun was.

"Hey, I'm just saying," Bobby shrugged.

"Shouldn't be talking to a _femme_ like that, _mon ami._" He held up his card.

"Stop it, Gambit." Scott interrupted the two before Bobby says something that would push the normally easy-going Cajun over the edge. "We're wasting time here."

"That's right. We must find Rogue as soon as possible. I believe that the reason for her instability might be linked with Jean's." The professor continued.

"You mean her helping Jean made her powers all out of control too?" Kitty's eyes widened.

"It's a strong possibility." The professor said. "Either way, an out-of-control Rogue might be ten times worse than Jean's episode."

"Right." Gambit said as he turned around and began walking away. "Remy's gonna get himself a Rogue.

* * *

Gripping the handlebars of his bike, his head swiveled every now and then to look around him. No Rogue yet.

He did notice the lack of people. She must be close.

Suddenly, the hairs of his arms rose. Someone was near.

An inhuman growl tore through the air, noticeable even with the rumble of his bike.

And soon, he found himself falling, tackled to the ground with superhuman strength.

"Sabertooth," he growled.

"Hello, pup."

The Wolverine's eyes narrowed when he saw his bike fly through the air and crash into a nearby dumpster. "You're gonna pay for that." He said matter-of-factly.

"Why don't you make me?" Sabertooth taunted.

Wolverine sniffed the air. Something was wrong.

"What's wrong, boy? Scared?"

"Rogue." It was not a question. Her scent told him who she really was. Wolverine withdrew his defensive position. Storm had called him earlier, telling him about the rogue Brotherhood teen, telling him not to engage with her. He was not about to fight her because of Chuck's orders. That and he had a grudging respect for the kid for helping out Red. Rogue didn't have to, but she did, and for that he was indebted to her. And Wolverine always pays his debts.

The two combatants were interrupted when they heard a woman shout.

"Monster!" An elderly lady had just excited her apartment building.

Something jumped in Rogue/Sabertooth's face. "I am not a monster." She declared as she advanced threateningly towards the woman, fists drawn up, ready to do damage. Suddenly, she was running towards the defenseless human.

"Run!" Wolverine screamed at the woman who seemed to be glued on the spot. He, too, took off running and pushed the raging Rogue/Sabertooth away.

With another scream, the woman broke out of her trance and into a run.

Wolverine and Rogue/Sabertooth ended up in a tangle on the road. Wolverine was pushed out of the way with super human strength.

"I am not a monster," she repeated as Sabertooth's features wore off. "Not a monster."

And soon, Wolverine found himself staring at his doppelganger.

"I am a man!" With an anguished scream, bone claws protruded out of Rogue/Wolverine's knuckles.

* * *

**- tbc**

* * *

As usual, reviews would be greatly appreciated! =) Speaking of which…


	20. Beyond Hope

Disclaimer: None of the mutants belong to me. Anything familiar you read below is most probably not mine either.

AN:

_-grins sheepishly-_ sorry. Here's the last installment.

Thank you to those who held my cold, clammy hands from the start up to the very end. Your patronage is most appreciated.

Thanks most especially to…

**Miss Poisonous**: I know. He's such a sweetie. ) He meant well, but you know what they say about the road to hell being paved with good intentions and what-not.

**EmeraldKatsEye**: OK, you asked for a Lance-Kitty and more Pyro…uh…after the end of the fic…please don't kill me…please? P

**GWFreak315**: I hope you'd still love me even after reading the chap. Hah.

**X2P3: **I think it's what you'd call bone claws. ) Comic-Rogue was able to get 'em when her powers went all haywire-y.

**Gothic Cajun**: Hah! Even more angst. Hope you like.

**Pomegranate Queen**: Hope you still like it. )

**RoguesTale**: Rogue finally switched sides! Unfortunately, it's a side with her against everyone else! Heh! )

**Star-of-Chaos**: I agree that out of control Rogue is always fun. I had waaaay tooo much fun writing this.

**Silver Ink**: thanks. Hope you like my twist at the end.

**SickmindedSucker:** Well, Remy and Wolvie will _try_ and get through her. )

**RikaTabithaStarr: **Thanks for the uber nice compliment.

**Scarlet stripes:** thanks. Sorry for the mega late update.

**Ishandahalf**: sorry my bunnies kinda run outta crack…wait…is it just me, or does that statement sound super smutty?

**EvilWhiteRaven**: Even if I didn't update soon, can I still get a cookie?

**Enchantedlight:** thanks for the hyper review. Made me smile. )

Previously on Ideologies… 

Rogue found out that Raven knew that Irene was going to die if the shape-shifter continued with her plans. Rogue felt betrayed when Raven did nothing about it. Speaking of betrayals, Rogue found out that Kurt was betraying the Brotherhood. Having just helped Jean Grey whose powers went all crazy, Rogue can't help but hear other people's thoughts. That was how she found out about Kurt's transgression. Hurt, confused, and incredibly anguished, Roguey left the Boarding House. Meanwhile, Kurt asked the X-Men to find the wandering rogue. Wolverine found her, under the guise of Sabertooth. An innocent bystander made the mistake of calling Rogue a monster, prompting the girl to attack the human. Fortunately, Wolverine saved the day. But in Rogue's confusion, she had shifted into Wolverine's form.

**

* * *

**

**Ideologies**

Chapter 20

**

* * *

**

"Monster!" An elderly lady screamed.

Something stirred in Rogue/Sabertooth's face. "I am not a monster." She declared as she advanced threateningly towards the woman, fists drawn up, ready to do damage. Suddenly, she was running towards the defenseless human.

"Run!" Wolverine screamed at the woman who seemed to be glued on the spot. He, too, took off running and pushed the raging Rogue/Sabertooth away.

With another scream, the woman broke out of her trance and into a run.

Wolverine and Rogue/Sabertooth ended up in a tangle on the road. Wolverine was pushed out of the way with super human strength.

"I am not a monster," she repeated as Sabertooth's features wore off. "Not a monster."

And soon, Wolverine found himself staring at his doppelganger.

"I am a man!" With an anguished scream, bone claws protruded out of Rogue/Wolverine's knuckles.

In shock, Wolverine took a step backward.

"Not a monster." It was Rogue who rasped. Wolverine knew it to be so. Her scent would not lie, but his sight reflected his own eyes staring back at him.

"Rogue," he tried to call out the teen inside, himself fighting the torrents of memories that he had painstakingly hidden within the depths of his own mind.

"I am a man." S/he waved a bloodied hand.

Wolverine adopted a defensive position, anticipating an attack.

"I am powerful."

Suddenly, the wind picked up, howling in the man-beast's sensitive ears. And before his very eyes, his own features melted into one of his old friend's.

"I am a goddess!"

"No!"

Wolverine tried in vain to keep Rogue in place, but already, the energy vampire was rising through the air as Storm.

Belatedly, he remembered the communicator with him. "Shades? I found her."

**

* * *

**

_Too much. Much too much._

"Mutie bitch!"

Rogue, who was not Rogue but a young girl of fourteen with bones protruding out of her body (one of the many nameless psyches she had absorbed over the years) whipped around and saw a group of college-aged men carrying various pieces of metal as weapons. _No. No more! Please leave me alone!_

"You don't deserve to live." One of the men snarled as he threateningly swung the long piece of pipe he held in his hands.

"Yeah," one of his companions nodded. "Mutant freaks been all over the world, making things filthy,"

"Need to do the world a favor and get rid of 'em."

_No. _

Memories of large, looming men flashed in her mind. Men who would take her and her family away—lock them up and kill them slowly. _No. Musn't let them take me. Musn't let them win. Must fight back. Must protect myself. _

In her mind, she saw herself as a young man, a tell-tale star stitched on the breast of his tattered top, who tried running for his life, but the soldiers caught up. No where to run…no where to hide. They would be taking him to a camp, a camp where hundreds like him come into everyday but no one came out.

The men took a collective step back and glanced at each other uncertainly when they saw the mutant before them slowly shift. Her tanned skin paling into a chalk-white complexion. Her long hair shortened until it was shockingly white crown. The little girl was now a man. A man who easily lifted the make-shift weapons the men were carrying with an uncaring wave of her/his hand.

"The world is not for savages like you. The future is for the newest evolution of mankind!"

Behind her/him, a similar being was watching. A cold smile touched his normally grim lips. "My child," he revealed himself.

**

* * *

**

"Can't believe Wolverine lost her!" Cyclops muttered as he maneuvered the Jeep. "Now where are we going to look for her?"

"How about downtown?" Shadowcat suggested.

"What?"

"Look," Jean pointed towards the car TV which was left on, showing the evening news.

Two Magnetos were duking it out downtown, unmindful of the destruction they caused.

"Ouch." Iceman winced as one of the Magnetos summoned ice which wrapped around the other Magneto's body. Then, the first Magneto's eyes let out a beam of red.

"I guess we found our Rogue." Cyclops muttered.

"And you wondered why Wolverine couldn't hold her." Spike muttered.

And throughout it all, Gambit remained silent.

With a great show of strength, Rogue/Magneto threw the real Erik Lensherr against a building. The force of the throw caused the latter to crush into it. Landing on the ground, Rogue/Magneto once again shifted. Her new persona was Avalanche. Placing one foot before him/her, her eyes turned white. The ground trembled mightily. Surrounding buildings collapsed.

Gambit cursed.

"Do you think Magneto could've survived that?" Kitty asked fearfully.

Cyclops' mouth turned into a straight line. The fight occurred in a business area. He knew that there were still people inside the collapsed buildings. They would rather stay in their offices than gamble with their lives in an attempt to escape. The fight happened so fast, no one had an opportunity to run away, no opportunity to conduct a rescue mission. Even in Magneto survived, no doubt that the innocent people who were in the surrounding buildings would not.

Even if they were able to help Rogue to return to some semblance of normality, how would the young woman go back to before knowing that she's responsible for the death of a lot of people?

**

* * *

**

"She's on the move again," Wolverine's voice came out clear despite the rumbling noise in the background. It was obvious that he was pushing his motorcycle to its limit going after the rogue Brotherhood mutant. "A rescue team's finally able to go in and look for survivors. There's no news about Magneto yet." Too late. He had come too late.

"Where to?" Cyclops asked as he prepared to maneuver the vehicle to a new direction.

"She's heading north. On the direction of Bayville High." Suddenly, Wolverine cursed and static filled the air.

"Wolverine!" Jean screamed. There were a few tense moments when nothing was heard through the communicator but dead air.

"Wherever you are, steer clear of tall buildings!" Wolverine's warning, odd though as it may seem, relieved everyone. "Rogue's still using Avalanche's power, causing every structure within her range to collapse."

"We'll try," Cyclops said dubiously.

"Alright. I'm gonna track her down. Out."

Almost immediately, Kitty's phone rang.

The voice on the other side started without preliminaries. "Kitty? It's Lance. We wanna help."

**

* * *

**

They finally found her in the school parking lot.

And it wasn't too difficult for them to do so. All they had to do was to follow the trail of destruction that she left behind her.

Not only did she destroy homes and buildings and cars and monuments (and pretty much anything that got in her way), she also left behind injured people in various states of consciousness.

As of last count, ten people were confirmed dead.

It was hard to believe that the girl who was huddled against the wall, rocking and whispering softly to herself was the same girl who single-handedly caused chaos around town.

"Roguey," Remy whispered as he slowly approached her.

"Stop. Stop. Too many voices. Too much. Too loud. Make it stop. Make it stop." Rogue squeezed her eyes shut.

Vulnerable. She looked so damned vulnerable.

"Rogue," Jean whispered. Then she tried to connect through her telepathically. _It's alright, we're here to help._

As if an invisible switch was turned on, Rogue suddenly stood tall and proud, the weakness she was displaying earlier gone. "No!" A strong telekinetic force lashed through the X-Men, causing them to fall down in pain.

_Rogue!_ Jean tried again. _You helped me before, remember? Now it's our turn to help you. We're friends!_

"I have no friends!" Slowly elevating, Rogue raised both her hands. The blue sky turned dark. Lightning occasionally lit the sky. Ominous thunders echoed in the distance.

"Rogue!"

The Brotherhood Jeep skidded to a stop behind the X-Men's vehicle.

Without waiting for it to stop fully, Kurt ported out and into the space between his sister and the X-Men. "_Shwester!"_

Rogue turned to him. Her eyes flashed yellow dangerously. Then she ported.

And Kurt soon found himself face-to-face with his sister.

Whose face shows no sign of recognition.

"Traitor." Rogue spat out as a hand suddenly grabbed for Kurt's throat.

Choking, Kurt felt his feet slowly lose contact with the ground.

The Brotherhood attempted to help, but the ground shook and gave, causing them to fall down.

_Stop it, Rogue!_ Jean tried again.

Rogue's free hand shot out towards Jean and the X-Men as various metal objects rose from the ground before circling threateningly around the redhead.

Jean was able to put herself and her teammates in a telekinetic bubble. She was about to try again when Gambit placed a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"You'll only aggravate her further." He said, his red eyes flashing. "Let me out, Red."

"But—"

"Let her out, Jean." It was Cyclops.

Green eyes met red shades. Jean nodded.

And soon, Gambit was out of the shield. "Put 'im down, _chere_,"

Rogue ignored him as Kurt choked painfully.

"You're stronger than this, _cher_," Remy said soothingly as he calmly walked towards her. "The woman I know would not let herself be controlled by her emotions."

Through Kurt's pain, he saw something shift in his sister's eyes.

"Fight it, Roguey. You can do it," Remy said. He was now close enough to touch her. And touch her he did, grasping her free hand. "_Chere_, you're the strongest woman I know." He placed a kiss on her palm.

Kurt saw a tear fall down her creamy cheek. "I'm sorry," he rasped out. "I l-love you…_M-Marie_,"

Rogue gasped, as if she had been deprived of air for a long, long time. She dropped Kurt and dropped to her knees.

And then all Remy could hear was the heart wrenching sobs of a broken woman.

**

* * *

**

Remy watched as the chamber which held Rogue slowly fill with paralysis fluid.

She was unconscious, yet her feet and arms were restrained, a precaution. Though he knew that if she wakes, nothing would be able to confine her, not even the metal chains that bound her wrists and ankles. But she remained in her slumber. As the chamber was filled to its brim, Remy touched the cool glass that was between him and his heart. This might be the last time he sees Rogue again.

A hand touched his shoulder.

"It's the right thing to do." Charles Xavier told him quietly.

The world demanded blood for all the lives that were lost. Someone had to pay. Or else all the mutants would suffer more than they already are.

Her sanity is connected by but a thread. The smallest of provocation would cause her to snap.

The guilt she was feeling during her lucid intervals is enough to make her go insane, to make her withdraw inside her mind again.

She believed herself to be beyond hope. So does the world. And what's more, so does the most powerful telepath in the planet.

There was no other choice.

Remy nodded. If there was anyone who understood the pain he was feeling, it was he who caused his own brother's imprisonment to protect the rest of the world.

Remy's mouth curved into an ironic and bitter smile. The rest of the world. The woman who meant the world to him is imprisoned in the glass container so that the rest of the world would be safe. His hands made a tight fist. He swore to track down the woman who drove Rogue into insanity.

He vowed to hunt down Mystique like the animal she is.

**fin**

_-whimpers fitfully- _please don't kill me. At least you can't accuse me of being unoriginal.

That other fic which had been giving sleepless nights would be updated before the end of the year…hopefully.

Argh! What kind of evil person do you think I am? Of course there's gonna be a sequel.

Well…there's gonna be a sequel as soon as I figure out what would happen…

I don't know when it's gonna come out. But it's gonna come out one way or the other…but if someone else wants to write a sequel or co-write it with me…that's fine! Feel free. Just tell me. I'll get back to you or something.

All I know is that the sequel would take place in the future, would involve the Phoenix, and the Rogue waking up from the chamber thingymajig. And finally, the Romy! Must not forget the Romy! Aside from that, who knows? )


End file.
